Halifax MZ287 at Driffield airfield.
During the early morning of 6th June 1944 this 466 Squadron aircraft was to have been flown on an operational flight to bomb a target at Maisy in support of the D-Day operations. Undoubtably the Maisy gun battery was the target. There was a slightly delay in this aircraft getting to the take off point at Driffied airfield and knowing what was at stake the pilot was anxious to get into the air before the deadline for this operational sortie came and passed. The aircraft appears to have been left idling and once the crew begun taxying the brake pressure faded so instead of stopping and allowing the pressure to increase the pilot decided to continue around the airfield toward the runway for take off. At around 01.00hrs when it was taxying on a long downhill section of the concrete and also with a tail wind the brakes failed. The aircraft then swung off the concrete and collided with 466 Squadron Halifax LV904. Whether the swing was deliberate to avoid other aircraft awaiting take off ahead or the swing resulted from a loss of power in an engine is not stated on any of the references to this incident I have located. What is stated is that two 466 Squadron aircraft did not take off owing to oiled up spark plugs so this may be the underlaying cause for the swing developing. Minor Cat.Ac damage resulted to MZ287 while LV904 appears to have escaped with a Cat.U damage assessment.
Pilot - WO Ronald James Walsh RAAF (420087).
Crew - Names unconfirmed.