Wellington HE161 near Middleton on the Wolds.
On 26th February 1943 the crew of this 196 Squadron aircraft took off from Leconfield airfield at around 10.45hrs to undertake a routine air test prior to an operational flight that evening when it was to have been used. During the flight the crew tested the operation of the bomb bay doors, the doors were opened successfully but while they were open a canvas curtain in the bomb bay detached and fell out of the fuselage, but was thrown by the slip-stream onto the I.F.F. aerial and slid along this until it became jammed in the tailplane elevators. It was thought that the crew realised that the canvas was fouling the aircraft's elevator and that the pilot had infact managed to shake it clear. The canvas curtain was found some 2.5 miles from where the aircraft would eventually crash. At 12.20hrs the Wellington dived into the ground and exploded around two miles east of Middleton on the Wolds, it was thought that although the canvas had been shaken out of the elevator in making a steep dive, there was not enough height left to pull out of the dive and it struck the ground. All on board were sadly killed.
Wellington HE161 was built to contract B.124362/40 by Vickers Armstrong's Ltd. at Hawarden and was awaiting collection in November 1942. On 30th November 1942 it was taken on charge by 429 Squadron at East Moor but was almost immediately transferred to 196 Squadron at Leconfield on 6th December 1942. As a result of the crash on 26th February 1943 Cat.E2/FA damage was the damage assessment and it was written off. It was struck off charge in early March 1943 and had clocked up just over 55 hours total flying time.
Pilot - F/O Neville Smart RAFVR (124547), aged ? Of Salisbury. Buried Lyndhurst Cemetery, Hampshire.
Navigator - F/O Thomas Donald Gordon RAFVR (120884), aged 22, of Gorebridge. Buried Cockpen Old Churchyard, Midlothian.
Bomb Aimer/Navigator - F/O Robert Lowell Benson RCAF (J/11949), aged 23, of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Buried Queensgate Cemetery, Beverley, Yorkshire.
Wireless Operator / Air Gunner - Sgt George Alexander Aitken Ranken RAFVR (1052516), aged 21, of Blackhall, Edinburgh. Buried Queensgate Cemetery, Beverley, Yorkshire.
Air Gunner - Sgt Dennis Herbert RAFVR (1425487), aged 19, of Leicester. Buried Welford Road Cemetery, Leicester.
Passenger - LAC Walter Robinson RAFVR (1073018), aged 32, wife of New Town, Rochdale, Lancashire. Buried Castleton Moor Churchyard, Lancashire.
Sgt Ranken's grave in Queensgate Cemetery, Beverley.
Robert Benson was born 10th May 1919 in Jamestown, New York, USA and was the son of Herbert Cark and Isabel Katherine (nee Anderson) Benson. He appears to lived with his mother in Westboro, Ontario as a boy as he attended school there while his father was a musician and lived in Falconer, New York when Robert enlisted. Robert had been working as a teacher in Westboro since 1938 when he enlisted for RCAF sercice in Ottawa on 22nd July 1941 (he may have been living in Ottawa at the time). After training in as an air observer in Canada he was awarded Air Observer badge and a commission on 25th May 1942. On arrival in the UK he trained at 1 (O)AFU and 20 OTU before posting to 196 Squadron on 15th November 1942.
Neville Smart received his commission on 1st May 1942 to the rank of P/O on probation (emergency) and was promoted to F/O on probation (War subs) on 1st November 1942.
Thomas Gordon received his commission on 16th May 194w to the rank of P/O on probation (emergency) and was promoted to F/O on probation (war subs) on 16th November 1942.
