Halifax W7855 at Snaith airfield.
During the evening of 25th February 1943 the crew of this 51 Squadron aircraft flew a cross country training exercise. On landing at Snaith airfield at 22.40hrs the aircraft began to swing off the runway and in attempting to correct the swing the the starboard wing struck the ground. The aircraft immediately swung around and came to rest with the undercarriage collapsed. The crew all scrambled clear but in the pilot's haste he forgot to switch off all the engines and left the fuel on. This caused further damage to the aircraft. The crew escaped serious injury, the flight engineer sustaining the most serious with a cut to his left thigh. Most would sadly be killed just days later on an operational flight.
Pilot - F/Sgt John Martin Claridge Johnsen RAFVR (933612).
Navigator - Sgt Albert George Snow RAFVR (1091872).
Air Bomber - Sgt Norman Phillip Taylor RAFVR (1336198).
Wireless Operator / Air Gunner - Sgt Leslie Charles Pearson RAFVR (1288177).
Air Gunner - Sgt Cyril Davies RAFVR (1412831).
Air Gunner - Sgt James Arthur Barnard RAFVR (1293974).
Flight Engineer - Sgt Cyril Gordon Street RAF (576754). Injured.
F/Sgt Johnsen was the son of Captain O C W Johnsen DFC DFM and Mrs Ethel Johnsen.
The first six named above were flying together again on the night of 3rd / 4th March 1943 in Halifax W7861 on Ops to Hamburg and
failed to return. All were reported missing and are commemorated on the Runnymede Memorial. F/Sgt Johnsen was twenty one years old, Taylor
was twenty one, Davies was twenty two, Barnard was thirty, Pearson's age in the CWGC register is down as forty two years old and if correct
he must surely have been one the oldest operational aircrew ever to have died on active service.
Cyril Street was born on 19th May 1923 and was from Ferrybridge, near Castleford, Yorkshire. He had already survived the crash of 10 Squadron Halifax BB194 on 3rd February 1943. As fate had it, had he not been injured in this 51 Squadron crash on 25th February 1943 he would probably have been killed with the rest of this crew on 3rd March 1943. On the night of 9th / 10th July 1943 he was flying in Halifax HR843 on Ops to Gelsenkirchen when the aircraft went into a spin while his then pilot was taking evasive action to avoid flak. During the spin he and one other airman baled out but his then pilot was able to regain control and made a crash landing in England. Sgt Street saw out the rest of the war as a prisoner of war.
Halifax W7855 was built to contract B.73328/40 by Handley Page Ltd. at Radlett. It was immediately taken on charge by 10 Squadron at Melbourne on 18th September 1942 and as a result of battle damage sustained on 24th October 1942 minor Cat.A/FB damage would have been the damage assessment. It was repaired on site at Melbourne. The date of transfer to 51 Squadron at Snaith is not recorded on the aircraft's AM Form 78 but it was probably around the time 51 Squadron began equipping with the type of Halifax in November 1942. It was badly damaged on 25th February 1943 at Snaith when it swung on landing and the undercarriage collapsed. After assessment Cat.E/FA damage was the assessment and it was struck off charge on 26th February 1943.