Over the night of 16th / 17th July 1942 the crew of this 27 Operational Training Unit aircraft undertook a cross country night navigation exercise. This saw them take off from Lichfield and fly a course over the northern and central parts of England. Part of the exercise was to see the aircraft fly a planned route from Goole to Cottesmore before then flying to additional turning points prior to then returning to base at Lichfield. After setting a southerly course from Goole toward Cottesmore the crew received a radio message stating they should return to base. The crew decided to continue to Cottesmore and then return to base from there. This would have made sense as it would mean an easier westerly course to navigate from Cottesmore to Lichfield. During this leg it then appears that the crew mistook Cottesmore for another airfield much further north so then turned west far sooner that they should have done. After heading west the navigator mistook Nottingham for Leicester and made calculations based on this. They then became lost and assumed they were too far south of where they should have been. As this area had no hills they opted to descend to 1500 feet and then headed north. The aircraft eventually flew towards the high ground of the Peak District at an unsafe height and eventually flew into high ground at Rud Hill near Ringinglow, to the west of Sheffield. Four of thew crew freed themselves but one of the crew sustained serious leg injuries and also became trapped inside the aircraft. A fire then started around the starboard engine and this spread to the fuselage. The crew rescued the trapped airman but in pulling away burning perpex the stop it dripping onto him, the pilot received burns to his hands. The uninjured navigator and wireless operator then went to seek help and later returned with police and Home Guard.
Historian Ron Collier stated that a member of the Home Guard, "Sgt J F Lowey", was given an award for his gallant attempt at rescuing the crew but I have been unable to full identify him or discover what he was awarded. Given the pilot's statement in the casualty file stated the crew self-rescued him before anyone else arrived at the site it may well be incorrect.
The 16 Balloon Centre, Sheffield ORB makes reference to this accident, it states that the aircraft "crashed between Roundhouse & Burbage Bridge. Crew baled out. One airman injured and taken to Royal Hospital, rest of crew treated here for superficial abrasions." The 27 OTU ORB is rather vague, it states.."Wellington Z8980, approx position eight miles SW of Sheffield. 00.30hrs, dark, thick mist, aircraft burnt, Cat.E, Salvage, Yes."
Pilot - Sgt Thomas Frank Thompson RAFVR (1331862). Injured.
Navigator - P/O John William Moore RAAF (403943).
Navigator (Bomb Aimer) - Sgt Joseph Howe Levett RAAF (407839). Seriously injured.
Wireless Operator / Air Gunner - Sgt Kennington John Hythe Harris RAAF (408163).
Wireless Operator / Air Gunner - Sgt Jacob Henry Roden RAAF (411053). Injured.
Thomas Thompson was born on 31st March 1921 at Lambeth, London and enlisted for RAF service on 15th January 1941. He recovered from the injuries sustained in this crash but transferred to the ATA at a later stage. He received a commission in the RAF on 9th March 1944 (172783) but must have transferred / been seconded to the ATA soon after. As a First Officer he was killed on the 17th August 1944 while serving with No.14 Ferry Pilot Pool, Air Transport Auxiliary. He was in Oxford PH235 that was attempting a force-landed following engine failure when it hit high tension cables Holmes Chapel, Cheshire.
Kennington Harris was born on 29th November 1921 in Launceston, Tasmania, he enlisted on 31st January 1941 in Hobart. He was later posted to 460 Squadron and on 4th January 1943 he was flying in Lancaster W4274 on Ops to Essen when the aircraft was shot down by a night-fighter and crashed near Hatart, Nijmegen with the loss of the whole crew. All were believed to have been buried in the garden of a priest until the end of the war (though RAAF personnel records do not state this) and then re-buried in Uden War Cemetery, Holland. He was twenty one years old.
Jacob Roden was born on 4th February 1921 in Clovelly, New South Wales and enlisted in Sydney. He recovered from his injuries sustained in the accident detailed above and completed his training and was later posted to 150 Squadron. On 20th September 1942 he was flying in Wellington X3762 on Ops to Saarbrucken, the aircraft is believed to have been shot down and crashed near Landrecourt in Northern France. He was twenty one years old and initially buried locally in the St.Dizier (Lanoue) Communal Cemetery, France but later re-buried in Choloy War Cemetery, France.
Joseph Levett was born on 2nd May 1909 in Wagga Wagga, New South Wales and enlisted on 3rd February 1941 in Sydney. On arrival in the UK he was posted to train at 27 OTU on 18th November 1941 and while with this unit he had already survived the crash of Anson N5030 on the Isle of Man on 17th January 1942 and spent around a month in hospital. Returning to 27 OTU after he was passed fit he sustained more serious injuries including a compound fracture of a leg and serious burns in this second incident near Sheffield in July 1942. As a result of this incident he spent around a year in hospital before he was posted back to 27 OTU in July 1943 and assessed. In terms of the ages of airmen in Bomber Command he wasn't a young man, he was 34 when he came out of hospital. As a result of the injuries sustained (and I speculate partly because of his age) he was discharged from the RAAF. He was back in Australia by the end of 1943.
John Moore was born on 15th August 1917 in Newcastle, New South Wales and enlisted in Sydney.
Wellington Z8980 was built to contract B.71441/40 by Vickers Armstrong's Ltd. at Weybridge and was awaiting collection in October 1941. It was received by 12 MU on 17th October 1941 and was taken on charge by 57 Squadron at Feltwell on 28th October 1941. It received minor Cat.Ac/FA damage on 9th December 1941 that was repaired on site and it was returned to 57 Squadron on 20th December 1941. On 28th December 1941 it was transferred to 99 Squadron at Waterbeach. It was with 99 Squadron just over a month as they left for India at the end of February 1942 and left the aircraft behind. On 14th February 1942 it was taken on charge by 419 Squadron at Mildenhall but then moved onto 27 O.T.U. at Lichfield on 1st March 1942. As a result of the accident on 17th July 1942 Cat.E2/FA Burnt damage was recorded on the paperwork and it was written off.
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