Halifax MZ870 at Snaith airfield.
On the night of 30th September / 1st October 1944 this 51 Squadron aircraft was flown on a combined cross country training flight and bombing exercise. The aircraft took off from Snaith at around 19.00hrs and the crew appear to have flown the exercise without incident possibly to around the time it came to dropping the practice bombs. With the bomb doors open the hydraulic system failed so they would not close. The pilot got the aircraft back to making an approach to land at Snaith at 00.13hrs, with the crew lowering the undercarriage with the hand pump, but the approach was too low and also the aircraft was still flying too fast, probably with a lack of flaps to slow the aircraft. Unfortunately after landing the aircraft was travelling too fast to stop on the airfield or in the overshoot area and came to rest in a field next to the airfield with the port undercarriage collapsed. The damage sustained saw the aircraft written off.
Pilot - P/O Donald Dixon RAFVR (177009).