On 16th March 1945 the pilot of this Harvard and also at least one other took off from Newton airfield to undertake a training flight as part of the training course at No.16 (Polish) Service Flying Training School. During the flight, either as part of a formation flying practice or whilst one aircraft was making a simulated attack on the other, Harvards FX381 and FT344 collided. Unfortunately FX381 crashed in the Tunnel Pit area of Wroot, Lincolnshire and one member of the crew, believed to have been the pilot, flying solo, was killed. The photograph shown above depicts the crash scene. Harvard FT344 was able to make a safe landing, believed to have been back at Newton and the crew (AC2 Nakoneczny and AC2 Zywicki) escaped injury. As the Tunnel Pit area of Wroot is so close to the Yorkshire boundary I have included this incident in my Yorkshire losses although with more research it could turn out to be outside of Yorkshire. The young man's death was registered in Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire which could lend weight to him having died in Lincolnshire.
Historians Albert Pritchard, Ken Reast and Eric Barton sought permission from the landowner and located small fragments of the aircraft on the surface at crash site in September 2004 to confirm the location as being around a mile east of Wroot. Their location is indeed in Lincolnshire.
Pilot - AC2 Waclaw Dabrowski PAF (P.706450), aged 20. Buried Newark Cemetery, Nottinghamshire.
Waclaw Dabrowski and his grave in Newark Cemetery.