Halifax MZ853 at Croft airfield.
During the late afternoon of 1st August 1944 this 431 Squadron aircraft was to have been used to fly an operational flight to bomb a V1 launch site at Acquet and this aircraft took off from Croft airfield at 15.41hrs. All 431 Squadron crews undertaking this operational order were ordered abandon the mission by the Master Bomber and the crews brought their bombs back to Croft. On the approach to land at Croft the pilot found that the throttle control on the starboard outer engine was sticking. On landing at 19.14hrs he appears to have accidentally kicked the rudder controls causing the aircraft swung off the runway, the pilot attempted to correct the swing but could not bring the aircraft to a halt in the airfield space available. It overshot, ran across the perimeter track and through the boundary fence, over a ditch causing the undercarriage to collapse and came to rest in an oat field beyond at the south-east end of the airfield.
Pilot - F/O Forbes Mowat Skeaff RCAF (J/86571).
Navigator - P/O Hugh J McNenly RCAF (J/87034).
Air Bomber - WO2 John Freeman Magnusson RCAF (R/139871).
Wireless Operator / Air Gunner - F/Sgt S A Grey RAFVR (1095553).
Flight Engineer - F/Sgt J Robinson RAFVR (1614506).
Air Gunner - P/O R G Tomlin RCAF (J/87127).
Air Gunner - P/O W W Chunnick RCAF (J/87123).