Halifax L9569 at Melbourne airfield.
On the afternoon of the 4th January 1943 this 1658 Heavy Conversion Unit aircraft was being flown on a basic circuits and landings training flight who were using Melbourne airfield for part of their exercises at this point in the war. While in the air the starboard outer engine caught fire setting fire to part of the wing, the engine was shut down and the propeller feathered but the Graviner fire extinguisher did not work. The instructor took control and then made a hurried landing at Melbourne airfield at 15.00hrs but the fire spread after landing and the aircraft was badly damaged. The crew escaped injury. The fire had originated through a glycol leak in the starboard outer engine. The damaged aircraft blocked the runway at Melbourne and any night flying that was planned had to be scrapped for that date.
Pilot (Instructor) - Acting F/Lt Sidney James Brownlee Hamilton RAFVR (62703).
Pilot (Pupil) - Sgt M C Smith RAF (696984).
Sidney Hamilton was granted a commission in the RAFVR on 27th March 1941 to the rank of P/O on probation and received a promotion to F/O (war subs) exactly a year later. On the night of 12th / 13th September 1941 he was flying in Whitley Z6800 which was damaged by flak and returned to Topcliffe. While in the rank of Acting F/Lt he was awarded the DFC for service with 102 Squadron, Gazetted on 9th February 1943. The citation reads.."F/Lt Hamilton has at all times displayed exceptional qualities of leadership. During attacks on many very heavily defended targets such as Bremen, Frankfurt and Karlsruhe, he has shown care and precision in performing his alloted tasks. On several occasions he has secured excellent photographs from a low level." He was probably instructing at 1658 HCU when this incident to Halifax L9569 occurred at Melbourne. He was promoted to F/Lt (war subs) on 27th March 1943. On 30th November 1943 he was the instructor flying 1658 HCU Halifax DG221 when the aircraft landed heavily at Riccall badly damaging it. He rose to the rank of S/Ldr (war subs) on 21st September 1944 and post-ww2 remained in the RAF. On 1st November 1947 he was granted a Substantive rank in the RAFVR of F/Lt (with seniority of 1st January 1943) but he relinquished his War Substantive rank in the RAFVR in February 1948 upon his transfer to the Secretarial Branch and was appointed to a commission as F/Lt. He transferred to the Reserve on 14th December 1958 and finally relinquished his commission on 14th December 1962. He probably died in the Sedgemoor area of Somerset in 1988.
Halifax L9569 was built to contract 692649/37 by Handley Page Ltd. at Radlett. It was received by 24 MU on 20th June 1941 and was taken on charge by 35 Squadron at Linton on Ouse on 2nd August 1941. On 11th September 1941 it was force landed at Egthorne, Kent on return from Ops to Turin in thick cloud and running out of fuel. Minor damage resulted and a repair on site was carried out. As a result of a mishap at Linton on Ouse on 9th December 1941 the damage appears to have been assessed as Cat.A/FA and it was repaired locally on site at Linton on Ouse. The aircraft's AM Form 78 states that it then received two repairs on site, the first beginning on 14th December 1941 and the second on 30th December 1941. The aircraft was returned to 35 Squadron use on 31st January 1942 and was then transferred to 10 Squadron Conversion Flight at Leeming on 14th February 1942. The aircraft crash landed at Leeming and suffered damage on 29th March 1942 that saw a damage assessment of Cat.Ac/FA damage recorded. A repair on site was carried out at Leeming and it was returned to 10 Squadron (Conversion Flight) on 7th July 1942. The unit moved to Melbourne on 26th August 1942. On 7th October 1942 it was transferred to the care of 1658 Heavy Conversion Unit at Riccall. It then crashed at Melbourne on 4th January 1943. Cat.E2/FA damage was recorded and the aircraft was struck off charge on 14th January 1943.