On the evening of 21st October 1940 this aircraft took off from Leeming airfield at 18.18hrs to bomb an aircraft parts factory in Stuttgart. After around two hours flying the starboard engine failed, flames and black smoke was seen coming from it. The crew turned the aircraft around and made for home but on arrival in the Leeming area they found the area blanketed in fog. The aircraft's wireless transmitter then failed soon after they had contacted their base to inform them of their intention to land. The aircraft received a message instructing them to land at Cold Kirby on the dummy airfield, this airfield was also capable of receiving diverted aircraft to land there. They landed safely at 22.43hrs at Cold Kirby.
Pilot - P/O Kenneth Douglas Brant RAF (81655).
Second Pilot - Sgt Noel Thomas Harvey Scott RAFVR (748284).
Observer - Sgt H R Wemyss RAF (755677).
Wireless Operator / Air Gunner - Sgt Donald Boyd-Stevenson RAF (621788).
Wireless Operator / Air Gunner - Sgt Alexander Millar RAFVR (902583).
Kenneth Brant received a commission to the rank of P/O on probation on 29th June 1940. He survived the crash of Whitley P4967 at Nether Silton, on the edge of the North York
Moors on 4th September 1940, which is also detailed on this website. He was awarded the DFC for service with 10 Squadron, Gazetted
in March 1941 but no citation has yet been found. He was sadly killed on 26th June 1941 while flying with 21 OTU at Kinloss in Whitley N1379 while almost
certainly instructing. The aircraft crashed near Kinloss soon after taking off for a training flight. He is buried in Durrington Cemetery, Worthing, Sussex. I thank Ms
Nikki Sheeran for kindly supplying the photograph of his grave and inscription on town war memorial shown here.
Alexander Millar received a commission on 19th December 1941 to the rank of P/O on probation (114578). He was promoted to F/O on probation on 1st October 1942 and to F/Lt on 19th December 1943. He was Mentioned in Despatches with a huge number of other air force personnel on 8th June 1944 but he was killed on 11th September 1944 while serving with 156 Squadron when Lancaster ND534 failed to return from an operational flight to Gelsenkirchen.
He was twenty eight years old and is buried in Reichswald Forest War Cemetery, Germany.
Noel Scott received a commission on 2nd July 1942 (130065) to the rank of P/O on probation and was promoted to F/O on probation on 2nd January 1943. He was Mentioned in Despatches on 1st January 1943. After completing a tour with 10 Squadron he was posted to instruct at 22 OTU where he flew in the thousand bomber raids in Spring 1942. He was awarded the Air Force Cross, Gazetted on 1st June 1943 which must have been for his role at 22 OTU. He was promoted to F/Lt on 2nd July 1944.
Notification was printed in the London Gazette on 7th September 1945 that Warrant Officer Wemyss had received a King's Commendation for valuable service in the air for service with 271 Squadron. He was probably a Horace Wemyss born in the Bristol area in 1919. His full name is not in the Air78 file in the UK National Archives.
Donald Boyd-Stevenson received a commission on 17th May 1941 (45948) to the rank of P/O on probation. He was promoted to F/O (war subs) on 17th May 1942
and had been posted to 104 Squadron where he was awarded the DFC, Gazetted on 23rd July 1943. He was promoted to F/Lt (war subs) on 17th May 1943. He left the RAF on 22nd October 1945.
Whitley P4961 was built to contract 75147/38 by Armstrong Whitworth Ltd. at Baginton and was awaiting collection in mid-April 1940. It was allotted to 10 Squadron at Dishforth on 19th April 1940 amd was taken on charge by them at Dishforth on 8th May 1940 during their conversion from Mk.IV Whitley's to MkV's. Following flak damage on 18th May 1940 Cat.M/FB damage was the assessment and it was repaired on site.. The aircraft then moved with the unit to Leeming 8th July 1940. It was damaged by flak on 12th August, Cat.M/FB damage being the damage assessment. Again it was repaired on site and returned to the unit. On 8th / 9th September 1940 the aircraft was being flown on Ops to Bremen when the rear gunner baled out over Germany slightly damaging it. It was swiftly repaired on site It was damaged again a few days later by flak on 17th / 18th September 1940. On 21st October 1940 it suffered minor battle damage and was repaired (possibly at Cold Kirby if the damage prevented the aircraft being ferried back to Leeming). On 21st December 1940 the aircraft was returning from ops to Berlin when it was abandoned near Harleston, Suffolk and its then crew escaped injury. The aircraft was written of as a result of this incident. The aircraft was struck off charge on 2nd January 1941 when the paperwork caught up.