Wellington LP211 near Airmyn.

At 10.00hrs on 13th April 1944 the crew of this 304 Ferry Training Unit (F.T.U.) aircraft took off from Melton Mowbray airfield to carry out a fuel consumption test. Two hours into the flight a problem with the fuel supply to the starboard engine occurred, this caused the starboard engine to fail and the aircraft to loose height. The fuel cocks were checked but they appeared set correctly and the problem could not be resolved so the pilot force landed the aircraft in a ploughed field, on it's belly, near the village of Airmyn, Goole at 12.00hrs. All five airmen on board sustained injuries and the aircraft was badly damaged.

The pilot's names were found on the AM Form 1180 while the three other aircrew's names were found in a Ferry Command occurance book in the National Archives in file AIR38/234. Both are handwritten and my interpretation of their names and service numbers are given below.

Pilot - Sgt Arthur Herbert Fenner RAFVR (1377645). Injured.

Second Pilot - F/Sgt S P Allen RNZAF (NZ428063). Injured.

Wireless Operator / Air Gunner - Sgt Steve RAFVR (1133957). Injured.

Navigator - Sgt R Howden? RAFVR (1559330). Injured.

Navigator U/T - LAC Hector Eugene Wright RAF (592017). Injured.

By 20th November F/Sgt Allen was serving with 271 Squadron, on this date he was flying in Dakota KG318 on an operational flight to Holland, they had landed at Eindhoven and had taken off with fifteen passengers (Army personnel returning to the UK on leave) when flak near Dunkirk injured the captain of the aircraft and damaged the cockpit. The aircraft was force landed in France behind Allied lines.

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