During the evening of 2nd November 1942 this 102 Conversion Unit aircraft was used on a basic circuits and landings flying exercise. At 20.20hrs during one of the landings the aircraft landed slightly off the runway, in attempting to get back onto the runway and being distracted by the closeness of the airfield's watch tower the pilot tried to deliberately swing the aircraft back onto the runway line but the aircraft swung violently and the undercarriage collapsed.
Pilot - Sgt Sidney Walter Templar RAFVR (1330718).
Pilot - Sgt Frederick David Buchwalter RAFVR (1330654).
Sidney Templar received a commission to the rank of P/O on probation (emergency) on 20th July 1943 and was awarded the DFC for service with 102 Squadron, Gazetted on 16th November 1943. He remained in the RAF at least until 1953 when he was appointed to a permanent commission in the RAF on 29th April 1953.
Frederick Buchwalter completed his training and was posted to 102 Squadron. On the night of 6th / 7th December 1942 he was killed flying Ops to Mannheim in Halifax W7924 when the
aircraft crashed off Denmark. He has no known grave and he is commemorated on the Runnymede Memorial. He was twenty years old.
Halifax L9565 was built to contract 692649/37 by Handley Page Ltd. at Radlett and was allotted to 8 MU on 12th June 1941. It was received by 8 MU on 2nd July 1941 at Little Rissington for preparation for operational flying and was then taken on charge by 76 Squadron at Middleton St.George on 2nd August 1941. On 28th October 1941 it was allocated to 28 Conversion Flight which was due to form at Leconfield 4th November 1941 and was then taken on charge by 28 Conversion Flight when it formed. Around 20th January 1942 it was transferred to the newly formed 102 Conversion Flight at Dalton a couple of weeks after the unit formed. As a result of a crash on landing at Dalton on 10th February 1942 Cat.Ac/FA damage was the assessment and it was repaired on site. It was returned to 102 Conversion Flight on 9th May 1942. On 19th May 1942 it damaged it's tail wheel assembly and tail bay skin on landing at Dishforth, the tail wheel was replaced later that day at Dishforth and it was flown back to Dalton but then immediately flown to Topcliffe for the tail bay skin to be repaired. Owing to a shortage of parts it was then left un-repaired for some weeks. 102 Conversion Flight then moved to Topcliffe on 10th June 1942 and to Pocklington on 7th August 1942. The 102 Conversion Flight records state that at the end of July 1942 it was still undergoing repair to a damaged fuselage tail bay with spares being greatly overdue to repair MkI aircraft. It took until 31st October 1942 for it to be returned to 102 Conversion Flight when it was flown to Pocklington to re-join them. Unfortunately it then crashed at Pocklington on 2nd November 1942 while taking off. Cat.Ac/FA damage was the initial damage assessment but on 20th November 1942 it was re-assessed as beyond repair so was struck off charge, Re-Cat.E being the assessment.
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