Whitley T4284 at Leeming airfield.
During the evening of 23rd December 1940 the crew of this 58 Squadron aircraft were tasked with bombing French ports around Boulogne. This aircraft returned to Yorkshire early having suffering technical trouble. While landing at Leeming at 22.20hrs in poor visibility it undershot, struck a tree and a fence and crashed and was slightly damaged at Leeming. The runways at Leeming were having construction work done on them at the time of this incident and a problem with the pilot seeing the flarepath may have some significance in this incident occurring.
Pilot - F/Lt B Brooke. (Possibly F/Lt Beresford Brooke RAF (37959)).
Second Pilot - Sgt Howard Piper Shipley RAFVR (742481).
? - Sgt Henderson.
? - Sgt Guest.
? - Sgt Simpson.
Howard Shipley was still serving with 58 Squadron on 15th January 1941 when he was killed when Whitley N1521 was shot down on an operational flight. He
is buried in Alkmaar Cemetery, Holland. He was twenty four years old.
Whitley T4284 was built to contract 38599/39 by Armstrong Whitworth Ltd at Baginton and was awaiting collection on 26th October 1940. The aircraft was probably
a replacement for N1428 "GE-B". T4284 was taken on charge by 58 Squadron at Linton in early November 1940 and Cat.M(c)/FB damage was recorded following the incident
at Linton on Ouse on 23rd December 1940 as stated above. It was repaired on site but on completion of the repair it was transferred to 10 OTU at Abingdon in early 1941.
After a period with 10 OTU it was transferred to 19 OTU at Kinloss where it remained until being converted to a ground instructional airframe in March 1944 as 4657M.