In the early hours of 18th July 1941 this pilot was flying alone and undertaking a "searchlight homing" training exercise with 54 Operational Training Unit when the aircraft flew into cloud and then crashed onto the hillside on Bransdale Moor at around 04.30hrs. The reasons for the crash occurring were blamed on a member of ground staff controlling the aircraft's position at Church Fenton who had vectored this pilot and another pilot / aircraft (which would also crash soon after) over high ground instead of an area where the exercise should have been carried out. The pilot of Blenheim L1449 somehow survived the crash, which seems pretty much a miracle given the terrain. He appears to have flown into gently rising ground which prevented a big impact. Interestingly the 54 O.T.U. ORB states "18.07.41. P/O Woodhead KILLED in Blenheim L1449 {which was not the case, he survived!} On searchlight homing exercise. Was vectored over Cleveland Hills, flew into hillside. Cat.E". In August 2018 the pilot's AIR81 casualty file became available in the UK National Archives and this gave an account written by him.
Blenheim L1449 was built to contract 527114/37 by the Bristol Aeroplane Co. Ltd. at Filton and was delivered to the RAF in January 1939. After acceptance it was issued to 23 Squadron at Wittering in February 1939. It was later transferred to 60 OTU at Leconfield on 28th April 1941 and finally to 54 OTU at Church Fenton on 4th June 1941. It was destroyed in the above incident, sustaining Cat.E2/FA damage on 18th July 1941.
Pilot - P/O Edward James Woodhead RAF (66608). Survived but remarkably not seriously injured.
Edward Woodhead's date of commission is not yet known, following this accident he recovered from his injuries to some extent. He was promoted to F/O on 18th May 1942 but when he was made F/Lt a year later he was working for the General Duties Branch. Post-War he remained in the RAF and transferred to the RAFVR on 6th July 1949. He relinquished his commission of F/Lt on 6th July 1954 when it is assumed he left the service. I would welcome contact from his family to gain a photograph of him if possible please.
It would be worth adding a further comment at the foot of the webpage to Blenheim L1449 to explain a probable mix-up with the crash locations of aircraft in this immediate area. A number of
contempary sources mix up the crash sites of Lancaster W4233 and Blenheims L1117 and L1449. Blenheim L1117 is listed in more modern references as having crashed at Crookstaff Hill and while it
probably first impacted with the ground in this general area it is also where Lancaster W4233 would appear to have crashed some two years later. The moorland road that runs over this area may
also have ruined any evidence of the initial impact site of L1117. Other publications list Blenheim L1449 as crashing at Crookstaff Hill and also at the waterfall. For many years I was in the
belief that L1449 was the aircraft in the waterfall. In August 2018 the AIR81 casualty file for the pilot of L1449 became publically available and this gives the location for where that
aircraft crashed, and it is not anywhere near the waterfall or Crookstaff Hill.