Halifax W7673 at Leeming airfield.
On 8th May 1942 this 10 Squadron aircraft was being airtested when, at 12.13hrs, it swung on landing at Leeming and the undercarriage collapsed. No injuries were reported.
Pilot - Acting F/Lt Alan Egbert Hacking RAFVR (63487).
Crew - Names unknown.
Halifax W7673 was built to contract B.73328/40 by Handley Page Ltd. at Radlett and was taken on charge by 10 Squadron at Leeming on 29th April 1942. As a result of the landing accident at Leeming on 8th May 1942 the damaged was initially assessed as Cat.B/FA but was then re-assessed as beyond repair so Re-Cat.E/FA damage would have been the damage assessment. It was then struck off charge but the date is not given on the AM Form 78.
Alan Hacking received a commission on 17th April 1941 to the rank of P/O on probation and rising to F/O (war subs) exactly a year later. On 11th September 1941 he ditched 10 Squadron Whitley Z6867 off Flamborugh Head with the crew soon being rescued. The London Gazette has no further increases in his rank after this date, his rank when the incident occurred at Leeming must have been an acting rank and as Acting F/Lt. On 27th April 1942 10 Squadron were on detachment to Lossiemouth to attack the German battleship Tirpitz, he was the pilot of Halifax W1039 which was hit by flak which shot away the aileron controls. He was able to return to Lossiemouth and land safely. On 30th April 1942 he was the pilot of Halifax W1054 returning to Leeming from their detachment in Scotland when the aircraft swung off the wunway in strong cross wind and the undercarriage gave way. On 8th May 1942 he damaged Halifax W7673 at Leeming, again swinging off the runway on landing after an airtest. William Chorley, in his superb series of Bomber Command losses books states that it was believed that he was suffering from operational fatigue. He was soon back in the air and went with the part of 10 Squadron that was posted to Middle East in July 1942. Alan Hacking was killed flying in Halifax W7679 (on detachment from 10 Squadron to 10/227 Squadron) on 6th September 1942 on Ops to bomb Heraklion airfield. Many of his crew who flew with him in April 1942 (and possibly when Halifax W1054 crashed at Leeming as recorded above) were still flying with S/Ldr Hacking on 6th September 1942. Sadly S/Ldr Hacking, F/Sgt Carson and F/Sgt Porritt were killed but there are conflicting reports as to the fates of the others. The three named were recovered are buried in Suda Bay War Cemetery, Crete. Some say the others died in a crash at sea and their bodies were not recovered, while others give the crash location as being on land south east of Kastelli Pediada and they were captured and became PoW's. Their aircraft was leading a formation of three aircraft when they made a run over the target and bombed in a shallow dive pulling out at 7000 feet. The starboard outer engine was hit by light flak at the end of the run and fuel was seen streaming away from it. The pilot turned the aircraft southward and one airman was seen to bale out at 6000 feet with others following soon afterwards.