Halifax DG419 near Fridaythorpe, Yorkshire Wolds.
On the 5th of May 1943 the crew on board this aircraft were undertaking a training flight, almost two hours into this flight
and just before 20.00hrs the pilot was practising flying on three engines and feathering and restarting the aircrafts engines.
Whilst feathering the port outer engine but at a height lower than recommended in case of trouble, control was
lost and the aircraft crashed near Fridaythorpe. The crash investigation found that the pilot was
probably not aware that he should have carried this exercise out over 3,000ft as he had not signed the order
book prior to taking off. The main cause was put down to pilot inexperience, he had only six hours flying on
the Halifax at the time of the crash. It is not known why there were only six reported to have been on the aircraft or why there was no
wireless operator on board.
Pilot - Sgt Victor E Petterton RAFVR (1387742), aged ? of ? Buried Barmby Moor, Yorkshire.
FEng - Sgt James Chisnall RAFVR (1530103), aged 22, of St Helens. Buried St Helens Cemetery.
Nav - Sgt Francis H Brown RNZAF (NZ39740), aged 27, of Auckland City, New Zealand. Buried Barmby Moor, Yorkshire.
BA/Nav - Sgt Robert Deacon RAFVR (1049243), aged 19. of Barnard Castle. Buried Barnard Castle Church Cemetery.
AG - Sgt Harold Rowbottom RAFVR (1094047), aged 20, of New Wortley, Leeds. Buried New Wortley Cemetery.
AG - Sgt Alfred W Oakley RAFVR (757915), aged 22, of Dundee. Cremated Dundee.
Sgt Betterton and Sgt Brown's gravestones at Barmby Moor Churchyard, and Sgt Deacon's grave at Barnard Castle.
Derrick Deacon, the brother of Sgt Deacon was killed less than three months later, he is buried in Iraq.
I would like to thank Mr Trevor Betterton for contacting me and for the information he was kindly able to provide,
his cousin being the pilot. If there are any readers who can say where this aircraft crashed exactly Mr Betterton would like to know.