Halifax MZ867 at Leeming airfield.
During the evening of 27th November 1944 this 427 Squadron aircraft was to be flown on an operational flight to bomb a target at Neuss and the aircraft took off from Leeming airfield at 16.56hrs. The crew successful circled the general area of the airfield to await all the squadron aircraft becoming airborne and climbed to 6,000 feet by 17.05hrs before setting course. Around an hour later the starboard inner engine failed so had to be shut down and with the aircraft being unable to maintain height or speed with the bomb load the crew abandoned the trip. They jettisoned at least part of the bomb load and flew back to Leeming. Because of poor visibility on their return to Leeming the pilot did not line up with the runway properly and the aircraft landed at 18.44hrs but soon ran onto the grass. The aircraft could not be stopped before it struck a mound of earth than protected the airfield gunnery range butts and lost its undercarriage. It must have been fairly badly damaged as the subsequent damage assessment deemed it beyond repair.
Pilot - P/O Ray Roaldo McKenney RCAF (J/88373).
Navigator - F/O H E Bronson RCAF (J/14799). (Possibly Harold Emory Branson).
Air Bomber - F/O D J Fraser RCAF (J/29965).
Wireless Operator / Air Gunner - P/O Stanley William Danks (182851).
Flight Engineer - Sgt Horace Henry Prior RAFVR (2209544).
Air Gunner - F/O Connaught Kelway RCAF (C/85137).
Air Gunner - F/O James Alan Fairley DFC RCAF (J/17088).