Details regarding this possible Yorkshire-related incident are not yet fully known or proven, the only mention to date was
in a 1980s RAFA magazine in a "letters" section and clearly something happened on or around this date which this
informant was refering to. The informant also
stated that the pilot would be killed later in the War, in either 1940 or 1941 but after he had been
awarded either a DSO or DFM for "sitting" on a Dornier whilst he was on an airtest, causing the Dornier to crash.
The incident the letter refers to is that (possibly) on the 29th of February 1940 the crew of this aircraft
were carrying out a routine patrol of the North Sea,
when, 200 miles out to sea, the port engine seized and later caught fire. The fuel supply to the engine was cut
and the fire went out but the hydraulics were now useless begin pumped by the engine.
The pilot managed to reach the Yorkshire Coast and up-draft allowed him to reach Thornaby airfield and make a landing.
It is not known whether damage was caused to the aircraft on this landing or whether the undercarriage was lowered.
Pilot - F/Sgt Bill Williams, uninjured.
WOp/AG - Thomas Brown, of Littleport, Ely, uninjured. (He possibly lost a brother, Norman Brown in 4th Btn, Hampshire Reg in 1943).
Rest of crew - Names unknown.
If the surname of the pilot is believed correct then a F/O Owen Lloyd Williams (39091) WAS a 99 Squadron pilot around this time, but on
23/24th February 1940 he was the pilot of Wellington N3004 which force landed in Belgium, the crew were interned but later returned to the UK.
It is doubtful that this would be within five days as would have to happen for the date of the Thornaby incident to be correct.
Certainly F/O Owen Williams did return to the UK by May 1940 as on 22nd May 1940 he was lost flying with 99 Squadron on Ops to Dinant in Wellington
L7803 in France.
One other possible (although less possibly than the man named above) could be a Sgt William Eric Williams DFM RAF
(645116), of Chirk, Denbighshire. He was killed flying with 53 Squadron on 15th March 1941 and was aged 20. His body
was not found and is commemerated on the Runnymede Memorial. He was in Blenheim T2132.
If the date of 29th February 1940 is correct and it was flying with a bomber unit, it was rare to Bomber Command to
carrying out patrols over the North Sea. On the nights of 28th/29th and 29th/30th February 1940
there were no Bomber Command operations carried out involving Wellington aircraft. I believe that the date could
therefore be incorrect.