Halifax LV842 at Skipton on Swale airfield.
During the evening of 20th July 1944 this 433 Squadron aircraft was to have been flown on an operational flight to bomb Ferme du Forestel for what would have been the pilot's first operational sortie as captain. At 19.26hrs when the aircraft picked up speed on take off at Skipton on Swale airfield it began to swing to port, the pilot corrected this swing and continued the take off but when the tail wheel left the ground the aircraft began to swing to starboard. Again the pilot corrected the swing by reducing the power applied to the port engines but after correcting this swing. Instead of then abandoning the take off he instead applied more power to the port engines and attempted to leave the ground, when the power was again applied it again swung to starboard and ran off the runway. The aircraft was travelling too fast to stop in the available clear airfield and it eventually struck several forms of obstruction including a mound of earth before coming to a halt in or near the airfield's bomb dump.
Pilot - Sgt Joseph George Marcel Savard RCAF (R/179479).
Navigator - F/O Henry Grimble RCAF (J/36370).
Air Bomber - F/O Joseph Louis Baillargeon RCAF (J/36230).
Wireless Operator / Air Gunner - WO Bernard Bercuson RCAF (R/121330).
Flight Engineer - Sgt George Henry Lilley RAFVR (1571830).
Air Gunner - Sgt Alfred Wallace Jack Drennan RCAF (R/201257).
Air Gunner - Sgt Maurice Elmer Fairall RCAF (R/136030).