Halifax L9486 at Linton on Ouse airfield.
During the afternoon of 30th March 1941 this 35 Squadron aircraft was being flown on some form training flight when, at 16.30hrs, the undercarriage failed to lower as it approached Linton on Ouse airfield. The pilot opted to make the landing with the undercarriage retracted and minor damage to the aircraft resulted. This information is drawn purely from the AM Form 1180 accident card. Using other source records it appears that the aircraft was en route from Linton on Ouse to Duxford for attachment to the A.F.D.U. for trials work when the aircraft suffered a hydraulic problem in the air. The pilot opted to return to land at Linton on Ouse.
The is also a seperate version of events that have been linked to this incident in the past by others that gives the date as 31st March 1941 and also that it occurred at Duxford. Given the date is given on the AM Form 1180 as being 30th March 1941 and location stated is Linton on Ouse I feel this will be correct.
Pilot - P/O Eric George Franklin RAFVR (79534).
Crew - Name unknown.
Eric Franklin was born in 1920, his first role in aviation was working as an apprentice to Armstrong Whitworth in 1937. In May 1939 he qualified for Royal Aero Club Certificate in the Leamington, Warwick and District Aero Club (Cert.No.18362). In 1939 he joined the RAFVR and learned to fly in military aircraft, and on outbreak of War he was called up and posted for Bomber Command duties. He trained at 10 OTU at Abingdon and later to 19 OTU at Kinloss before an operational posting to 78 Squadron flying Whitleys. He received a commission to P/O on probation on 19th May 1940 and rose to F/O exactly a year later. In 1941 he was posted to 35 Squadron and as Acting F/Lt he was awarded the DFC for service with 35 Squadron, Gazetted on 22nd August 1941. He then undertook an instructor role at the Halifax Conversion Flights based at Linton-on-Ouse, Leconfield and Marston Moor, a role he undertook until 1942. He was also awarded the AFC for this instructional work. He later served as a test pilot, initially for Handley Page as a Halifax production pilot but in 1943 he was posted back to 35 Squadron as Flight Commander as part of the Pathfinder Force. Before the War ended he was back as a test pilot with Armstrong Whitworth and flew in the AW52G glider and production tested Lancasters and Lincolns. In 1947 he was appointed senior test pilot and on 13th November 1947 he was the first to fly the unusual AW52 aircraft. In 1948 he was appointed the company's Chief Test Pilot and continued in that role until 1965 where he was flying various aircraft produced at Baginton including several Meteor models including the prone pilot version, Sea Hawks, Hunters and Javelins. On 10th April 1949 he captained the Apollo turboprop airliners in it's maiden flight. On 31st May 1950 he flew the prototype Meteor NF11 on it's first flight and later in 1959 captained the Argosy on it's maiden flight. In 1965 Baginton closed and he moved to Hawker Siddeley Aviation in Manchseter and undertook development and production tests of the Avro Shakleton and Nimrod. He retired from test flying in in late 1975 with Hawker Siddeley Aviation, having flown 9000 hours in 100 types of aircraft over 30 years. He was granted an OBE for the work he had carried out.
Halifax L9486 was built to contract 692649/37 by Handley Page Ltd. at Radlett. Prior to completion it had initially been allotted to A&AEE at Boscombe Down on 30th August 1940 but then on 17th October 1940 it was re-allotted to 24 MU at Ternhill and then re-allotted to 35 Squadron at Linton on Ouse on 1st November 1940. The aircraft was only the second production Halifax ever built. It was initially taken on charge by Boscombe Down DTD on 13th November 1940 but on 2nd December 1940 it was flown to 24 MU at Ternhill. Eight days later it was taken on charge 35 Squadron at Linton on Ouse where it carried the squadron code "TL-B". The 35 Squadron orb states that this aircraft was flown to join 35 Squadron on 13th November 1940 by F/O Henry and it was their first Halifax to arrive (making it the first ever Halifax to arrive at an operational squadron). It sustained minor damage on 30th March 1941 when the hydaulics failed in the air on a flight to the AFDU and the pilot made a belly landing at Linton on Ouse. Following this damage it was inspected by 43 Group D.A.(Damage Assessment) and a repair order placed with the C.R.O.(Civilian Repair Organization) for the repair on site. On 20th August 1941 the repair was completed by C.R.O. and it was returned to 35 Squadron still at Linton on Ouse the same date but was re-coded "TL-G". On the night of 12th / 13th October 1941 it sustained damage after an engine fire on ops, Cat.A(c) damage was the assessment made on 20th October 1941 which saw it was repaired on site again, being returned to 35 Squadron charge on 12th November 1941. It was immediately transferred to 28 Conversion Flight at Leconfield the same day. On 30th December 1941 it moved with this unit to Marston Moor and on 2nd January 1942 it was transferred to the newly formed 1652 Conversion Unit at Marston Moor. As the result of a landing mishap there on 3rd March 1942 Cat.B/FA damage was the assessment. A major repair was begun on site at Marston Moor on 17th March 1942 but the aircraft was converted to a Ground Instructional Airframe, being completed as 3005M on 11th April 1942 when it was returned to 1652 C.U. charge. It was deemed as surplus to requirements at Marston Moor so the G.I.A. was transferred to No.4 S.of T.T. at St.Athan on 14th April 1942 and was transported there by road. It remained there until being struck off charge on 1st September 1944.