Hampden P1304 near Finningley airfield.
On 21st December 1940 the crew of this 106 Squadron aircraft were undertaking a basic night-time take-offs and landings exercise when it struck trees and undershot a landing at Finningley. The aircraft hit the ground at Mount Pleasant near Finningley, at 20.40hrs and sustained serious damage. The photograph below shows the damaged aircraft and it is remarkable that the crew survived.
Pilot - Sgt Peter Charles Wells RAFVR (748775). Survived.
Wireless Operator / Air Gunner - Sgt Richardson. Survived.
This photograph shows the crash site near Finningley (photograph via Brian Rapier).
Hampden P1304 was built to contract 773239/38 by Handley Page Ltd at Radlett and was awaiting collection
in November 1939. It was allotted to 9 MU on 27th November 1939 and was received by them on 16th December 1939. After a period of MU storage it was taken on charge by 106 Squadron at Finningley on 1st March 1940. It sustained Cat.W/FA damage as a result of the incident on 21st December 1940 near Finningley.
CWGC list his mother as being from Whorlton, Co.Durham. An Air Ministry telegram sent on notification of his death gives the address of his father as being Winchester, Hampshire.
Research carried out by Mr Andy Smith has yielded the flying logbook which has in turn brought a lot of information about Peter Wells' flying career.
Peter Wells first flew with 22 E & RFTS in a Tiger Moth on 27th June 1939. After completing all his basic training he was posted to 16 OTU and flew his
first Anson on 27th September 1940 and when this twin engine training was complete he was posted to 106 Squadron on 1st December 1940. He was working up
to flying operationally when his accident near Finningley occurred on 21st December 1940 but he was then grounded for three months after this accident.
On 23rd March 1941 he begun flying again and after re-fresher training he flew his first operational flight on 7th April 1941 to Kiel in Hampden AD758.
During the next months he became one of 106 Squadron's regular pilots flying a total of thirty three operational flights between 7th April 1941 and 1941
and thus completed his tour with them. On 1st October 1941 he was posted to OADU at Kemble with the intention of converting to flying Martin Maryland
aircraft in North Africa and The Med theatre. He left Kemble on 24th October 1941 in Maryland AR709 which he flew out to Gibraltar, then via Malta to
North Africa in the next five days. On 1st November 1941 he was posted to 39 Squadron and over the next weeks flew AR709 and Maryland BS776 a number of
times over The Med. On 1st December 1941 he was posted to 69 Squadron but only flew operationally with them three times before loosing his life. On
23rd December 1941 F/Sgt Wells was killed while flying Maryland BS766. His aircraft was attacked by enemy fighters and damaged and was
returning to base on one engine. The aircraft crashed while on approach to land with the loss of the crew of three.