Earlier on 6th December 1942 this 158 Squadron aircraft was flown on an airtest prior to use on a planned operational sortie later that day. During the airtest a problem with the hydraulic system occurred. The crew probably hand cranked the undercarriage down and the aircraft went on to land normally at Rufforth. Groundcrew must have spent some time working on the fault and that by the evening the aircraft was passed as servicable. At around 17.00hrs it then took off from Rufforth for an operational flight to bomb Mannheim when it after becoming airborne was realised that the undercarriage would not retract when the levers were pulled. The navigator then noticed that there was then a fault with the hydraulic system and the flight engineer then found that the undercarriage would not rise after using the hand pumping system. The pilot flew a circuit of the airfield and requested assistance from the ground. They then made an approach to land at Rufforth airfield but owing to reduced visibility they did not locate the runway until almost over it. The approach was also made too fast and at too steep an angle. This would have resulted in landing but overshooting into a field so the pilot was ordered to fly an overshoot. The pilot delayed taking action for several seconds and by which time the aircraft was lower than normal for an overshoot. The aircraft would not climb (probably owing to the additional drag caused by the lowered undercarriage legs and eventually it flew into rising ground near Bilbrough, just to north of the main A64 road at 17:28hrs. Sadly the aircraft caught fire on crashing, two of the crew died and the rear gunner was the most seriously injured of the other members of the crew. It was later found that a faulty connection on the undercarriage hydraulic system had caused the problem with the undercarriage but the pilot was deemed responsible for the aircraft crash landing where it did having left the attempting to overshoot the airfield until too late.
Navigator - Sgt Lawrence Ernest Walter Jackson RAFVR (1292954), aged 20. Buried Harrogate Stonefall Cemetery, Yorkshire.
Air Gunner - Sgt Peter Thurston Wallis RAFVR (1321136), aged 19. Buried Gap Road Cemetery, Wimbledon, Surrey.
Pilot - Sgt John Bartlett RNZAF (NZ.413370). Injured.
Flight Engineer - Sgt James Thorogood RAF (625658). Injured.
Bomb Aimer - Sgt Ian Urquart McLauchlan RAFVR (1388268). Injured.
Wireless Operator / Air Gunner - Sgt Joseph Batty RAFVR (1196226). Injured.
Air Gunner - Sgt Brian Arnold Miller RAFVR (1430469). Injured.
Halifax DG223 was built to contract ACFT/637/C4/C by Rootes Securities Ltd. at Speke. It was taken on charge by 158 Squadron at East Moor on 14th July 1942 but it may have already been on charge with them earlier as a spare. On 6th November 1942 the aircraft moved to Rufforth with the squadron. It was destroyed as a result of the crash at Bilbrough on 6th December 1942 with Cat.E2/FB Burnt damage recorded. The aircraft was struck off charge on the same date.
Lawrence Jackson was born on 27th August 1922 in London and enlisted for RAF service on 21st October 1940. He was buried at the regional Harrogate Stonefall Cemetery.
John Bartlett was born on 2nd November 1919 and enlisted for RNZAF service on 15th June 1941. After basic training he left for the UK in January 1942. He had an eventful but brief time with 158 Squadron, he was the pilot of Halifax W1038 which would crash near Wigginton on his first flight in a 158 Squadron Halifax on 16th October 1942. On the night of 9th / 10th November 1942 he was the pilot of Halifax DT521 that suffered an undercarriage collapse after returning from Ops to Genoa. This fatal accident on 6th December 1942 involving Halifax DG223 was his last with 158 Squadron and he did not fly operationally again. He spent three months at 2 (O)AFU at Millom and a month at the Staff Pilots Training Unit in 1943 but later returned to New Zealand by the end of 1943. After the War he returned home to New Zealand where he died on 11th November 1997.
Joseph Battey was born on 26th July 1922 at Bradford and enlisted for RAF service on 5th October 1940. He recovered from his injuries sustained at Bilbrough and became a PoW when Halifax HR979 was shot down over Berlin on 23th August 1943.
Ian McLauchlan was born on 2nd March 1910 at Morningside, Edinburgh and enlisted for RAF service on 15th April 1941.
Brian Miller was born on 4th June 1921 on Java, Dutch East Indies and enlisted for RAF service on 22nd April 1941.
James Thorogood was born on 15th February 1916 and enlisted for RAF service on 7th November 1938.
Peter Wallis was born on 8th May 1923 and enlisted for RAF service on 27th June 1941.