On 17th October 1944 the crew of this 1664 Heavy Conversion Unit Halifax took off from Dishforth airfield at 23.43hrs to undertake a night time cross country navigation training flight. Five minutes later the aircraft crashed into a field between Melmerby and Rainton and was destroyed by fire. A detailed examination of the wreckage followed but no definitive conclusion of why the aircraft had crashed was ever found. The bodies of all of the crew were found to be wearing parachute harnesses and it was believed that the aircraft had first struck the ground with the starboard wing in a steep bank or turn. The assumption was made that both starboard engines had failed immediately after taking off but no proof of this was actually found and the actual cause was listed as obscure. Having looked at numerous Halifax accidents that occurred in similar circumstances I would make a guess that the starboard wing was allowed to drop or a starboard turn was begun, with having only power on the port side of the aircraft this would tend to drag the aircraft further towards starboard and often resulted in a loss of control and a crash. Having said that, the Court of Inquiry into the incident made the statement "there is nothing in the evidence to establish the cause of this accident. Any explanation offered would be only conjecture". The investigating team would be fully aware of the problems linked to crashes with no engines on one side the aircraft and appeared to rule this out.
Halifax LL240 had earlier served with 434 Squadron and carried the nose art "The Comet".
Pilot - F/O George John Strickland RCAF (J/37031), aged 27, of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Buried Harrogate Stonefall Cemetery, Yorkshire (H/A/18).
Flight Engineer - Sgt John Shiro Matsuyama RAFVR (1869883), aged 19, of Norbury, London. Buried Streatham Park Cemetery, Surrey.
Navigator - F/O John Frederick Landsky RCAF (J/40062), aged 20, of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Buried Harrogate Stonefall Cemetery, Yorkshire (H/A/17).
Bomb Aimer - F/O William John Lee RCAF (J/38402), aged 22, of Lynn Creek, British Columbia, Canada. Buried Harrogate Stonefall Cemetery, Yorkshire (H/A/16).
Wireless Operator / Air Gunner - Sgt James Lee Powell RCAF (R/208276), aged 20, of Grimsby, Ontario, Canada. Buried Harrogate Stonefall Cemetery, Yorkshire (H/A/14).
Air Gunner - Sgt Elmer John Neumann RCAF (R/200181), aged 30, of Arnprior, Ontario, Canada. Buried Harrogate Stonefall Cemetery, Yorkshire (H/A/13).
Air Gunner - Sgt Gordon Leonard Spencer RCAF (R/270670), of Fort Qu'Appelle, Saskatchewan, Canada. Buried Harrogate Stonefall Cemetery, Yorkshire (H/A/15).
George Strickland was born on 24th July 1917 at Montreal, Quebec, Canada and was the son of Thomas Isaac and Rose (nee Metherell) Strickland. As a young man he worked as a stenographer after leaving school from 1936 until June 1941 when he enlisted into the Canadian Army, initially serving in Victoria Rifles, then serving in the Royal Canadian Hussars. He would then be posted to the UK and served in the Canadian Corps of Military Staff Clerks from September 1941 until August 1942. He appears to have wanted to see more action so applied for a discharge from the army. He received a discharge from the army in August 1942 and enlisted into the RCAF on 21st August 1942 in London, England. The initial part of his aircrew training took place in the UK but he was then posted back to Canada for further training. He received his pilots' flying badge and also a commission on 15th October 1943. Arriving back in the UK he further trained at 20 (P)AFU and 24 OTU before posting to 1664 HCU on 20th September 1944.
John Landsky was born on 16th January 1924 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada and was the son of Louis Martin and Emma (nee Wurdell) Landsky. After leaving high school he worked for the Bell Telephone Company as a test engineer. He enlisted for RCAF service 16th October 1942 in Montreal, Quebec and after receiving training in Canada was awarded his air navigator's flying badge and also a commission on 23rd December 1943. On arrival in the UK he trained at 1 (O)AFU and 24 OTU before posting to 1664 HCU on 20th September 1944.
William Lee was born on 25th December 1921 at Lynn creek, British Columbia, Canada and was the son of William and Ellen (nee Gossage) Lee. His parents had married at Wyrley, Staffordshire, England in 1921 and emigrated to Canada soon after. William enlisted for RCAF service in Vancouver on 5th August 1942 and after basic training in Canada he was awarded his air bombers' flying badge and also a commission on 12th November 1943. He too trained at 1 (O)AFU and 24 OTU before posting to 1664 HCU on 20th September 1944.
James Powell was born on 23rd July 1924 at Windsor, Ontario, Canada and was the son of Lee William and Anna May (nee Stormont) Powell. He lived with his family in Ontario until 1940 when they moved to Detroit, USA. His parents then appear to have seperated with his mother moving back to Ontario in the early 1940s while he remained in Detroit working for an electrical company. He enlisted for RCAF service on 2nd December 1942 at Hamilton, Ontario and after training was awarded his wireless operators' flying badge on 23rd December 1943 followed by his air gunners' badge on 14th February 1944. On arrival in the UK he trained at 7 (O)AFU and 24 OTU before posting to 1664 HCU on 20th September 1944 with other members of this crew.
Elmer Neumann was born on 21st January 1914 in Mansfield, Ontario, Canada and was the son of Fred A and Anna (nee Kumm) Neumann. Leaving school in 1930 he worked at a number of jobs with the last being as a miner for the International Nickel Company at Levack, Ontario. He enlisted for RCAF service on 31st March 1943 at North Bay, Ontario and trained as an air gunner in Canada, being awarded his air gunners' flying badge on 10th March 1944. On arrival in the UK he trained at 24 OTU before posting to 1664 HCU on 6th September 1944. His brother Welland Neumann was serving with 408 Squadron earlier in the war. On 27th / 28th May 1943 he was flying in Halifax DT574 on Ops to Essen when the aircraft was shot down by a night fighter over Germany. He baled out and became a PoW while two members of his crew were killed. Another brother Murray Neumann also served in the RCAF.
Gordon Spencer was born on 21st November 1924 at Fort Qu'Appelle, Saskatchewan, Canada and was the son of Allan Leonard and Annie (nee Wagner) Spencer. After leaving school he worked for The Consolidated Mining and Smelting Company of Canada as a smelter at Trail, British Columbia. He enlisted for RCAF service on 1st September 1943 at Regina and after training received his air gunners' flying badge on 10th March 1944. On arrival in the UK he trained at 24 OTU before posting to 1664 HCU on 20th September 1944.
Air historians Albert Pritchard, Eric Barton and Ken Reast located small fragments on the surface at the crash site in 1998 with permission from the landowner, confirming the crash location. The item shown above was one of these items and was retained by Eric Barton which contains a typical Halifax part number, it was given to me in 2022 and will be re-housed when I find somewhere to take his collection.