Halifax HX147 near New Earswick, York.
On the night of 10th / 11th July 1944 this 1666 Heavy Conversion Unit was flown on a Bullseye training flight and had taken off from Wombleton at 22.10hrs. At 03.25hrs the aircraft crashed on to or very close to the road between the Bumper Castle pub and Rowntree's Chocolate Factory, just north of the York-Scarborough railway crossing. All on board were sadly killed. The events leading up to the crash and the reasons for it occurring were never fully understood. Prior to the crash it was thought that the starboard outer engine had failed and had been feathered, though this alone would not have caused a crash of this nature. It was possible that another engine had failed and the pilot had then lost control. As it had overflown Clifton / Rawcliffe airfield it appeared to people on the ground that the engines were cutting out. The examination of the wreckage found that it hit the ground in a level position and that the starboard outer propeller was feathered but no technical defect was found with the engine. The rudder trim had been applied in the wrong direction which combined with a slow forward speed this would cause a flat spin to develop and its forward speed was decribed as being "negligable". There is a strongly held belief that this Halifax had collided with an unknown Wellington prior to its actual crash and while such an occurance would not be impossible but there is no suggestion of this occurring in offical documents. At 03.55hrs East Moor airfield's crash team and an engineer were called to the site where they removed a number of 20lb fragmention bombs back to East Moor for disposal. These were blown up in the crater made by another bomb left at East Moor the day before, the resulting crater was now 40 feet across and 15 feet deep. I do know roughly where the aircraft crashed but have not yet located the land owner to ask to begin a search of the fields for any sign of the aircraft today. A local man, Mr Sean Atkinson, was researching this incident with the aim of siting a memorial close to the site in 2008 but as far as I can tell this never materialized, I would love to hear from Mr Atkinson should he see this request.
Halifax HX147 was built to contract ACFT/1688/C4/C by Handley Page Ltd at Radlett and was delivered to 405 Squadron at Gransden Lodge in 8 Group P.F.F. on the 11th August 1943. This unit was in the process of converting to Lancasters so the aircraft was immediately transferred to 35 Squadron at Graveley, also a P.F.F. unit. In late 1943 it was transferred to 428 Squadron at Middleton St.George in 6 Group and it's final transfer was to 1666 Heavy Conversion Unit to whom it transferred in June 1944. It was destroyed in the incident on 11th July 1944 with Cat.E2/FA damage being the damage assessment.
Pilot - F/Lt John Douglas Best RCAF (J/11043), aged 24, of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Buried Harrogate Stonefall Cemetery, Yorkshire (B/H/20).
Flight Engineer - Sgt Bernard Andrew Barker RAFVR (1392337), aged 22, of Norbury, Surrey. Buried Fulford Cemetery, York (2/J/3).
Navigator - F/O Victor Zoratti RCAF (J/35036), aged 30, of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Buried Harrogate Stonefall Cemetery, Yorkshire (B/H/15).
Navigator - F/O William Arthur Corley RCAF (J/36334), aged 29, of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Buried Harrogate Stonefall Cemetery, Yorkshire (B/H/19).
Air Bomber - F/O Johnny Peter Kolomic RCAF (R/35077), aged 20, of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Buried Harrogate Stonefall Cemetery, Yorkshire (B/H/14).
Wireless Operator / Air Gunner - WO1 Robert Kirk Moore RCAF (R/124087), aged 22, of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Buried Harrogate Stonefall Cemetery, Yorkshire (B/H/18).
Mid Upper Gunner - Sgt Neil John Kidney RCAF (R/215860), aged 21, of Fort William, Ontario, Canada. Buried Harrogate Stonefall Cemetery, Yorkshire (B/H/16).
Rear Gunner - Sgt Raymond Frank Simmons RCAF (R/173565), aged 22, of Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Buried Harrogate Stonefall Cemetery, Yorkshire (B/H/17).
John Best was born on 19th October 1919 in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada and was the son of James Samuel and Margaret Elizabeth (nee McCombe) Best.
As a young man he had studied Arts and Science at the University of Manitoba but left in 1940 and worked as a laboratory assistant / analyser for Manitoba Steel Foundaries briefly before returning to university to study business. He enlisted into the RCAF on 13th June 1941 in Winnipeg and trained as a pilot, receiving his Pilot's Wings on 10th April 1942 and a commission on the same date. Just before heading overseas he married Alice Patricia Donovan in Toronto in early September 1942. He arrived in the UK a week after getting married and was posted to 18 (P)AFU and 82 OTU before arriving at 1666 HCU at Wombleton on 16th June 1944 as a crew with Corley, Kolomic, Moore, Kidney and Simmons (crewed with the pre-trained flight engineer Bernard Barker who had been posted in two days earlier). Following his death the Manitoba Government honoured Flight Lieutenant Best by naming Best Islands in his honour. Should anyone know of a crew photograph of this crew in existance I would love to be able to display it on this webpage.
Johnny Kolomic was born on 22nd February 1924 in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada and was the son of Alexander and Helen (nee Mendofik) Kolomic. Both his parents were born in Poland but emigrated to Canada where his father was a detective in the Winnipeg Police Dept. Johnny left school in June 1942 and was working as a waiter in dining cars on the Canadian National Railway when he joined the RCAF. He enlisted for RCAF service on 19th August 1942 in Winnipeg. After training as an air gunner he received his air gunner's badge and a commission on 3rd September 1943. On arrival in the UK he trained at 3 (O)AFU and 82 OTU before posting to 1666 HCU on 16th June 1944.
Neil Kidney was born on 7th September 1922 at Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta, Canada and was the son of John Wilson and Isabel (nee MacLean) Kidney. He lived in Saskatchewan until he was eighteen when he moved to Ontario in 1940 and began working as an air frame mechanic for the Canada Car and Foundry Company, at Fort William, Ontario. This company manufactured Hawker Hurricane aircraft among other types. He enlisted for RCAF service there on 21st January 1943 and trained as an air gunner, receiving his air gunner's badge on 29th December 1943. He was then posted overseas soon after and on arrival in the UK he trained at 82 OTU before posting to 1666 HCU at Wombleton in June 1944. At the time of his death his parents were living in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
Raymond Simmons was born on 20th June 1922 in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada and was the son of Frank William and Ivy Gertrude (nee McSweeney) Simmons. As a young man he studied at Hamilton Technical College before working at a number of jobs locally. He enlisted for RCAF service on 15th September 1942 in Hamilton and after training in Canada he was awarded his
air gunner's flying badge on 26th November 1943. His training took longer than normal as he seriously injured his knee when falling from a coal delivery truck in January 1943 which hospitalised him for some weeks, if not months. While recovering he married to Beatrice Arlene Kendall Postlethwaite Simmons in June 1943 in Hamilton and she became pregnant (his daughter was born in August 1944, after his death). On arrival in the UK in 1944 he trained at 82 OTU before posting to 1666 HCU on 16th June 1944. I thank his nephew Mr Tom Bayne for contacting me in 2005 and for additional information he was able to supply to this account including that after injuring his kneecap he was left with a limp and was initially blocked from going overseas. After protesting this was decision was reversed and he went overseas to England.
Robert Moore was born on 5th August 1921 at Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada and was the son of Thomas Kells and Ethel Susan (nee Anderson) Moore. As a young man he worjed at a variety of jobs including being a welder and as a shipping clerk for the Coca Cola Company of Canada. He enlisted for RCAF service on 25th August 1941 in Winnipeg and after training in Canada he was awarded his air gunner's flying badge on 12th October 1942 followed soon after by the wireless operator part. He was married Doris Margaret Stevenson in October 1942 in Winnipeg. He appears to have remained in Canada for some months after gaining his wireless operator / air gunner's flying badges and may have served as a staff wireless operator with No.7 AOS or 32 OTU where he served in 1943. Once in the UK in early 1944 he trained at 3 (O)AFU and 82 OTU before posting to 1666 HCU on 16th June 1944.
Victor Zoratti was born on 27th June 1914 in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada and was the son of Anthony and Caroline (nee Stojanwski) Zoratti. His parents were born in Poland but had emigrated to Canada. As a young man he left school in 1929 and began working for the Winnipeg Tribune Newspaper Company, initially starting as a "carrier boy" but later working in the mail room, to an office clerk and a district manager. He married Isabella Ruxton Christie in Winnipeg in 1940 and the couple later had a baby son. He enlisted for RCAF service on 24th July 1942 in Winnipeg and after training in Canada he was awarded his air navigator's flying badge and also a commission on 3rd September 1943. He was posted to the UK not long after and trained at 3 (O)AFU and 82 OTU. He was posted in to 1666 HCU on 22nd May 1944 with his own crew having crewed up with F/O Frederick Winston How RCAF at 82 Operational Training Unit prior to posting to Wombleton. He was involved in a landing accident at Wombleton on 3rd June 1944 when Halifax W1235 crashed through the boundary hedge. Victor Zoratti was flying as a second navigator on Halifax HZ147 on 11th July 1944 when it crashed near York, he may have been acting as or training with radar navigation equipment at the time. His original crew later received a new navigator but all were subsequently killed on Ops with 419 Squadron later in 1944.
William Corley was born on 4th June 1915 in Grey County, Ontario, Canada and was the youngest child of James and Charlotte (nee McPhee) Corley. His father was a farmer but died in 1926 and he moved to the Mount Forest area with his mother. After attending school at Mount Forest he studied pharmacy at the University of Toronto before starting work as a druggist in 1940. He married Lillian Diamond McPherson in May 1942 and enlisted for RCAF service on 9th June 1942 to Toronto. After basic training in Canada he was awarded his Navigator's Badge on 1st October 1943 and received a commission on the same date. He left for service in the UK the same month and trained at 3 (O)AFU and 82 OTU before posting to 1666 HCU at Wombleton on 16th June 1944. He was this crew's regular navigator. I am seeking a photograph of him should anyone be able to kindly supply one.
Bernard Barker was posted in to 1666 H.C.U. with a number of other flight engineers on 1st June 1944. I have yet to learn anything about his service as researching British aircrew through the national organisations is very difficult unless I am related.
