On 14th October 1944 this Wellington was being flown on a training exercise as part of a training flight involving Spitfire EP409. Both aircraft were part of the Central Gunnery School, based at Catfoss airfield and were almost certainly undertaking some form of fighter affiliation or tactics exercise. While over northern Hull the aircraft collided. This aircraft went out of control and three of the crew were able to bale out before it crashed on gardens between the western ends of Sutton Road and Strathmore Avenue. Sadly two of the crew were killed as a result of the crash plus the Spitfire pilot. I have yet to learn exactly where the crash site was however there is still a bare area of land just off Beverley Road that could well be the crash site area. No serious civilian casualties resulted but a number of houses were damaged by fire. Those killed are listed as being on the books of various other training units (not the CGS), the flight may have been some form of demonstration flight rather than just the run of the mill exercise. More information required.
Air Gunner - F/O Arthur James Walker DFC RAFVR (140904), aged 24, wife of Rugby. Buried Whinfield Cemetery, Rugby, Warwickshire.
Wireless Operator / Air Gunner - P/O Douglas Sidney Weed RAFVR (186263), aged 22, wife of Earls Barton. Buried Earls Barton Cemetery, Northamptonshire.
Pilot - P/O Reg Nicholls.
? - F/O Lacey.
? - SubLt M/Norpurgo.
Arthur Walker had survived the serious crash involving 1663 HCU Halifax DG404 on 11th / 12th July 1943 on moorland west of Pateley Bridge, North Yorkshire that saw a number of his crew killed. He received a commission on 5th March 1943 to the rank of P/O on probation (emergency) and rose to F/O on probation (war subs) on 5th September 1943. He was later posted to 76 Squadron and was awared the DFC for service with this squadron (Gazetted on 28th April 1944) for his actions on one specific operational flight as a rear gunner. The citation was a joint one with P/O John Albert Bate and Sgt Harry Van Den Bos, it tells the story..."These officers and airman were rear gunner, flight engineer and mid-upper gunner respectively of an aircraft which attacked Nuremburg one night in March 1944. Just as the bombs had been released the aircraft was attacked by a fighter. Cannon shell and machine gun bullets struck the bomber, causing a fire to start in the fuselage, starboard mainplane and the main bomb bays; one of the starboard engines was also put out of action. Nevertheless, Flying Officer Walker and Sergeant Van Den Bos maintained their vigilance and as the enemy aircraft closed in to make, another, attack they drove it off by well directed bursts of fire. Shortly afterwards the fighter again attacked but Flying Officer Walker and Sergeant Van Den Bos defended their aircraft with great skill. Following their accurate bursts of fire the attacker was seen to spiral towards the ground, completely out of control. Meanwhile, Pilot Officer Bate had displayed commendable promptitude in dealing with the fire and quelled the flames by means of extinguishers. On reaching an airfield in this country it was discovered that the undercarriage could not be released. Pilot Officer Bate immediately seized an axe, hacked a way through the fuselage to reach and release the uplock, thus allowing the undercarriage to drop to the down position. His pilot then landed the aircraft safely. In trying circumstances these officers and airman displayed great courage, determination and devotion to duty."
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