Wellington BK214 near Hutton Cranswick.
On 27th June 1946 a fighter affiliation exercise was carried out over the skies over East Yorkshire by aircraft from the Central Gunnery School, based at Leconfield. This involved a fighter aircraft acting as a dummy target in flying around and making simulated attacks on a bomber aircraft to give those in the bomber training and experience in swinging their guns, and the attempts to be recorded by cine-camera. Spitfire TE229 served as the attacking aircraft and Wellington BK214 was the larger aircraft carrying a number of crew including one person who must have simply gone for a ride to get air experience as he in the ground trades. While flying in good visibility and at around 4,000 feet over the Hutton Cranswick area the Spitfire made a pass on the Wellington but unfortunately struck wings. The Spitfire lost a wing and dived into the ground into a clover field with the body of the pilot found close by with a partly opened parachute suggesting he had attempted to bale out. The Wellington burst into flames in the air, having lost control it crashed around 100 yards from the Spifire in an ajoining field just north of the wartime airfield. The wing of the Spitfire fell into the garden and onto the greenhouse of a property in the village, it narrowly missed Mrs R H Wilkinson and her grandaughter Miss Joan Conder. At their inquest it was considered likely that the pilot of the Wellington had managed to steer the bomber away from the village. The crash sites appear to have been on the west side of the village and one may now be under a nursery. An MoD licence to recover items from the crash site was granted in September 1987 and one of the Wellington's engines was recovered which is on display at the Wings Museum, Balcombe, West Sussex. Other small fragments have been seen for sale on Ebay.
The accident rate at the Central Gunnery School after the War wasn't great, three occurred in the space of a month and too many lives were lost. 27th June 1946 at Hutton Cranswick mid-air collision with six killed, 24th July 1946 at Wykeham lost control on fighter affiliation exercise with five killed, 26th July 1946 Appleton le Moor, mid-air collision with four killed.
Pilot - W/O Kenneth Hinchliffe RAFVR (1622193), aged 22, of Marsden, Yorkshire. Buried Marsden (St.Barts) Churchyard, Yorkshire(6.1F) (pilot)
Wireless Operator? - F/Lt Allenby Mathers RAF (137309), aged 26. Buried Springbank Cemetery, Aberdeen (X.30A).
Air Gunner - W/O Harry Edwards RAF (618706), aged 26, of Mirfield, Yorkshire. Buried Streatham Park Cemetery, Sussex.
Air Gunner? - F/Sgt Roy Ernest Kenneth Hancock RAFVR (3000141), aged 20. Buried Putney Vale Cemetery and Crematorium (X.345).
Air Gunner? - F/Sgt Joseph Ricketts RAFVR (1570052), aged 22. Buried Stirling (Ballengeich) Cemetery (F.154).
Passenger (Office Clerk) - AC2 Sidney Howard Ballard RAFVR (2297456), aged 19. Buried Harrogate Stonefall Cemetery, Yorkshire (G.L.15).
Kenneth Hinchliffe served in the RAF during the war having enlisted at the age of 18. He was he son of Harry and Violet Hinchliffe. He spent time as a PoW having to force land in Albania on 4th May 1944 when 150 Squadron Wellington HE956 suffered engine trouble over Bucharest. He was engaged to be married at the time of his death and was due to leave the RAF in August 1946 to take up a career as a civilian pilot. It's slightly possible my mother may have been distantly related to this family.
Harry Edwards also served in the RAF during WW2 and spent time as a POW. On 9th July 1943 he was flying in 102 Squadron Halifax BB249 that was damaged by enemy action on Ops. The aircraft crashed in Belgium killing some of his crew. He was from Mirfield, West Yorkshire. He was married and his wife and daughter lived in West Norwood, London.
Sidney Ballard's grave at Harrogate Stonefall Cemetery.
