Halifax JN922 at Snaith airfield.
On 5th December 1943 the crew of this 51 Squadron aircraft had just undertaken an airtest and were coming in to land at Snaith when one of the main undercarriage legs would not lower properly. At 17.18hrs the pilot made a landing on the grass trying to keep the aircraft as level as possible with the weight on the one good undercarriage leg. As the aircraft slowed the pilot could not prevent the aircraft from settling onto the faulty undercarriage leg and it came to rest in a damaged state. The damage was then assessed as being beyond economic repair so it was written off.
Pilot - F/Lt Maurice McCreanor RAFVR (61308).
Maurice McCreanor was posted to 51 Squadron from 1658 Heavy Conversion Unit on 19th August 1943. He was part of the 51 Squadron party that formed 578 Squadron in early 1944 and was killed on 31st March 1944 when Halifax LW478 crashed at Silverstone, Northamptonshire. He is buried at Moston R.C. Cemetery, Lancashire. A memorial at the motor racing circuit marks his and his crew's loss.