Halifax HX243 at Leconfield airfield.
During the afternoon on 23rd May 1944 this 466 Squadron aircraft was flown to give a lesser experienced pilot some flying time in a Halifax MkIII. At 15.35hrs the pilot was attempting a landing at Leconfield airfield but the landing was heavy, while the main wheels touched down it then ballooned back into the air and then fell. When the tail wheel began to run along the concrete it began to shimmey and eventual collapse. The poor structural weakness of the tail wheel assembly mounting failed in the heavy landing.
Pilot - S/Ldr David Eliot Strachan Shannon DFC RAAF (400493).
Pilot - F/O James Thomas Brophy RAAF (418734).