Whitley K9055 at Linton on Ouse airfield.
On 19th December 1939 this 78 Squadron aircraft was being flown on a take-off and landing exercise and using Linton on Ouse airfield. During one of the landings, made on the old grass runway, the aircraft ran over a newly created concrete runway and this caused the tail wheel to collapse. Minor damage to the aircraft resulted.
Pilot - F/O Harold Morrey Selwyn RAF (39575).
Crew - Names unknown.
Harold Selwyn was born in the Camelford district of Cornwall in 1918. He was granted a short service commission in the RAF as Acting
P/O on probation as of 8th March 1937 and posted to 7 FTS at Peterborough on 20th March 1937 for training. He was promoted to F/O on 21st
June 1939. After flying with 78 Squadron F/O Selwyn was later posted to 51 Squadron in 1940, when, on 3rd July 1940 he was reported missing
flying in Whitley P4972 on an operational flight. Targets across Holland and Germany were attacked on this night with crews instructed to
attack airfields, barges and communication installations. The crew of his aircraft had identified a dummy aerodrome and while assessing it
the aircraft passed very close to another aircraft, his pilot took evasive action and as a result went into a spin, his captain gave the
order to abandon the aircraft and F/O Selwyn complied with this order. The pilot was then able to regain control and he and the rest of
the crew were able to make a safe return to base. F/O Selwyn was never found and is commemorated on the Runnymede Memorial. 51 Squadron's
ORB lists him as being the bomb aimer on his final flight.
Whitley K9055 was built to contract 522438/36 by Armstrong Whitworth Ltd at Baginton and was delivered to 78 Squadron at Dishforth on 11th August 1939. It moved with the unit to Linton on Ouse on 15th October 1939. Cat.M/FA damage was recorded following the incident detailed above and it was repaired on site and returned to the unit. It then transferred to 19 OTU based at Kinloss on 11th June 1940 and sustained unrecorded damage on 9th August 1941 and was again repaited on site, it was returned to the unit on 29th August 1941. On 10th September 1941 the undercarriage collapsed on landing at Kinloss, Cat.M/FA damage being recorded. Again it was repaired on site and returned to the unit on 29th November 1941. on 18th March 1942 an engine cut out while in circuit at Kinloss. The aircraft overshot on landing and undercarriage collapsed again. Cat.A/FA damage was recorded and again repaired on site. It was returned to the unit on 10th May 1942. It then sustained unrecorded damage on 5th January 1943 and again repaired on site and returned to the unit on 23rd January 1943. Soon after it was flown to 44 MU at Edzell, an aircraft storage unit on 3rd February 1943 for long term storage. It was struck off charge at Edzell on 16th August 1943 with total flying time of 962 hours.