Wellington BK184 near Robin Hoods Bay.

At 11.20hrs on 3rd February 1943 the crew of this 30 Operational Training Unit Wellington set out from their base at Hixon, Staffordshire to undertake a mixed navigation and air firing exercise. The crew crossed the coast in the Hapisburgh area and proceeded to undertake an air firing exercise at 500 feet above the sea. The crew then climbed to 4,000 feet and appear to have headed roughly north east but off-shore. At 13.20hrs they flew into thick cloud and twenty minutes later the starboard engine began to run rough with flames being seen to come from the air intake. This appears to have been over the sea roughly off Scarborough. The crew feathered the propeller and the flames appear to have then gone out and while they then turned toward land the pilot found that he could not maintain height on just the port engine. They crossed the coast line at around 1,300 feet and made a forced landing on what appears to have been moorland above Skerry Hall Farm, Robin Hoods Bay at 14.30hrs. The crew survived the landing despite four being injured and requiring treatement at Whitby hospital. The aircraft sustained damage and was deemed beyond. I would dearly like to learn where this incident occurred should anyone local be in a position to email with the information.

Pilot - Sgt James King RAFVR (991044). Uninjured.

Navigator - Sgt Ronald Lewis Howarth RAFVR (1132279). Injured.

Bomb Aimer - Sgt Ralph Blackton Butler RAFVR (1577781). Injured.

Wireless Operator / Air Gunner - P/O George May RAFVR (129022). Injured.

Air Gunner - Sgt Albert Lewis Payne RAFVR (1577810). Injured.

At the time of this incident James King had 140 hours flying to his name with 50 hours being on the Wellington type. He completed his training and received a commission on 23rd March 1944 to the rank of P/O on probation (service number being 173630 there-after). He rose to F/O (War Subs) on 23rd October 1944 and survived the War. Very little about his home life is known other than he was from the Tranent area of East Lothian.
Payne, Howarth, Butler and May cannot have been seriously injured as they appear to have remained in the same crew to complete their training at 30 O.T.U.. They received a new pilot in Eric Dainty and completed the course at 30 OTU. They were then posted to train at 1656 Heavy Conversion Unit at Lindholme and once this course was complete were posted to 100 Squadron at Grimsby on 23rd May 1943. On 13th June 1943 they were flying in Lancaster W4989 on Ops to Bochum when the aircraft crashed in Germany. All were killed and are now buried at Reichswald Forest War Cemetery, Germany.

Ronald Howarth was born on 10th August 1921 at Preston, Lancashire and was the son of James and Isabelle (nee Craig) Howarth. When the 1939 Register was compiled he was living with his parents at 229 Emmanuel Street, Preston and working as a costing clerk at a rubber factory. He enlisted for RAF service on 14th December 1940.

Ralph Butler was born on 26th May 1921 at Cleethorpes, Lincolnshire and was the son of Frank and Gertrude Minnie (nee Tullett) Butler. His father was born at Eastwood, Nottinghamshire while his mother was from Birmingham and they married in Coventry in 1919. In the 1921 census his father was working at a family run hotel, the Dolphin Hotel, Cleethorpes. When the 1939 Register was compiled he was working as an analytical chemist, living at St.Pancras, London. His parents were living at Grimsby where his father was listed as a licensed victualler. Ralph enlisted for RAF service on 9th August 1941. The subsequent casualty file for their crash landing at Robin Hoods Bay has reference to his father living at No.40 Emmanuel Street, Preston but this appears to have been later amended and I can find no evidence of this elsewhere.

George May was born on 29th March 1914 and was the eldest son of Thomas and Margaret Ellen (nee ?) May. I am struggling to locate the family in the 1921 Census or the correct birth registration. He married Gladys Amelia Percival on 20th February 1937 at Banstead, Surrey where he was working as a builder at the time. A newspaper report on the wedding states that by this date his father had died but that his brother, Thomas, was his best man. When the 1939 Register was compiled he and his wife were living at and running the Lounge Cafe, Hog's Back, Guildford, Surrey. They would go on to have two sons. He received a commission in the RAF on 5th September 1942. On probate and a reference in the casualty file states that his widow was living at Golders Green, London at the time of his death. His widow later remarried in 1950.

Albert Payne was born on 9th May 1922 at Cannock, Staffordshire and was the son of Harold and Annie May (nee Winsper) Payne. He enlisted for RAF service on 28th November 1941. By the time Albert died his father was living at Erdington, Birmingham and working as a grocer.

Wellington BK184 was built to contract 124362/40 by Vickers Armstrongs Ltd at Hawarden and was awaiting collection in August 1942. It was received by 48 M.U. on 25th August 1942 and was taken on charge by 25 O.T.U. at Finningley on 6th September 1942 but 25 O.T.U. ceased operating on 7th January 1943. All 25 O.T.U. aircraft were transferred to either 27 O.T.U. or 30 O.T.U. by 1st February 1943 when 25 O.T.U. disbanded. This specific aircraft was taken on charge by 30 O.T.U. at Hixon on 13th January 1943. Following the forced landing near Robin Hoods Bay on 3rd February 1943 the damage was assessed on site and was written off with Cat.E2/FA damage being recorded on the paperwork. It was then struck off charge on 28th February 1943 once the paperwork caught up.
I would very much like to learn exactly where this aircraft came down should anyone be in a position to contact me.

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