Wellington W5490 near Pocklington airfield.
During the early hours of 7th July 1941 the crew of this 405 Squadron aircraft were returning from flying an operational flight to bomb Dortmund with one engine overheating. The aircraft had taken off from Pocklington at 22.40hrs on the previous evening and bombed the target area between 01.04 and 01.26hrs and made for home. As it approached base on the return flight it was seen flying on only one engine, it entered Pocklington's circuit and was awaiting their turn to land when the good engine burst into flames. At 04.06hrs the aircraft lost height, struck a line of trees and crashed close to the airfield sewerage works. A number of the crew were seriously injured or killed. The aircraft was badly damaged.
Pilot - F/O Ronald John Fraas RAFVR (65504), aged 26, of Hitchin. Seriously injured and died on 8th July 1941. Buried Hitchin Cemetery, Hertfordshire.
Rear Gunner - F/Sgt Albert Luckhurst RAF (522251), aged 31, of Farnham. Killed in crash. Buried Farnham Cemetery, Surrey.
Second Pilot - Sgt William Lawrence Stuart O'Brien RCAF (R/58834), of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Seriously injured.
Observer - P/O Michael Gerald Alfred McKernan RCAF (J/4766), of Calgary. Seriously injured.
Wireless Operator / Air Gunner - Sgt Thomas Brown RAFVR (971162). Seriously injured.
Wireless Operator / Air Gunner - Sgt Thomas John Doyle RAFVR (990009). Seriously injured.
A Canadian newspaper report mentioning one of the crew has been located on the internet and states that P/O McKernan was grounded for a year
following his injuries and it also stated that the aircraft had been hit by flak during the flight before it crashed at Pocklington. His mother
lived in Outremont, Quebec at the time of the crash. He was re-patriated to Canada.
P/O O'Brien suffered burn injuries in the accident, his father Lt.Col.W.P O'Brien lived in Montreal at the time of this incident at Pocklington.
Ronald Fraas received a commission as P/O on Probation on 1st May 1941 from the rank of Sergeant. He was probably in the rank of Acting F/O when he died.
Nothing more is known about the other members of this crew. P/O O'Brien may well have been a reasonably good tennis player of his day as someone
with the same initials and name was a Canadian alive just before WW2 in Canada.
Wellington W5490 was built to contract B.71441/40 by Vickers Armstrong's Ltd. at Weybridge and was awaiting collection in March 1941. It was received by 51 MU on 11th April 1941 and was taken on charge by 405 Squadron at Driffield on 6th May 1941, soon after they formed on 23rd April 1941. It moved with this unit to
Pocklington on 20th June 1941 and as a result of the accident on 7th July 1941 Cat.E2/FB(Burnt) damage was recorded and the aircraft was written off.