Halifax BB305 near Little Ouseburn.
During the evening of 24th March 1944 this 1659 Heavy Conversion Unit aircraft was to have been flown on a Bullseye training exercise, normally a Bullseye exercise would involve it's crew navigating to a British town or city and make a simulated bombing run on a target there. It would also test ground units plotting and range-setting ground equipment. In an account The aircraft took off from Topcliffe at 19.20hrs. Soon after setting course the aircraft's starboard inner and outer engines failed and the crew were unable to feather the two propellers. The starboard inner engine caught fire and the aircraft began to loose height. Presumably the crew were attempting to reach Linton on Ouse airfield but as height could not be maintained a forced landing was made in a ploughed field around half a mile south of Little Ouseburn. The fire spread after the crash landing and while the crew escaped the aircraft was completely destroyed. An account on the internet located by author Hugh Halliday states that the landing was made near the Green Tree public house and the crew were taken there after the crash. The damage was deemed enough not to warrant a repair being made.
Pilot - F/O Robert Cecil Penrose RCAF (J/24486).
Crew believed to have been..
Navigator - P/O Kenneth Louis Schmitz RCAF (J/26421).
Wireless Operator / Air Gunner - Sgt E S Doan RCAF (R/163694).
Bomb Aimer - P/O K S Caspell RCAF (J/28674).
Air Gunner - Sgt R Pettigrew RCAF (R/181724).
Flight Engineer - Sgt J Davidson RAFVR (1823506).
Air Gunner - Name unknown.