Halifax DG407 at Rufforth airfield.
At 01.17hrs 2nd September 1944 this 1663 Heavy Conversion Unit aircraft was taking off from Rufforth airfield with the crew tasked with flying a fighter affiliation exercise when it swung on take off. The pilot failed to correct the swing and the undercarriage collapsed. A fire developed and the aircraft was badly damaged. Along with Rufforth's airfield fire tender attending the scene, Marston Moor airfield tender and also Acomb NFS tender also attended. There appears to have been an issue with the fact that the aircraft's engines had been left idling for some time prior to the crew attempting to take off. Strangely the Rufforth airfield record book lists this incident and identifies it as "-S" despite showing a photograph of the aircraft on the page previous to this incident which shows the serial number "DG407" and the unit code "-P".
Pilot - P/O Ronald Edmund Goulden RAFVR (178052).