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Crashsite Handley Page Halifax W1228

On the evening of 8 September 1942, the Halifax bomber, registration W1228, was lost at this location. The aircraft, belonging to 78 Squadron, took off from RAF Middleton St. George at 7:58 p.m. on a mission to Frankfurt. Twenty minutes later, it caught fire at an altitude of 8,000 feet and exploded at 500 feet with its full bomb load still on board. None of the seven crew members survived the crash. The crew consisted of:

Pilot: Flight Sergeant Jack Nicholson, RAFVR, 28 years old
Second Pilot: Warrant Officer Alfred Thomson, RAFVR, 22 years old
Navigator/Bomb Aimer: Pilot Officer Arnold Robson, RAFVR, 26 years old
Flight Engineer: Sergeant John Murray, RAF, 26 years old
Wireless Operator/Air Gunner: Sergeant Laurence Harvey, RAFVR, 22 years old
Wireless Operator/Air Gunner: Sergeant Ronald Stevens, RAFVR, 20 years old
Rear Gunner: Sergeant Cecil Rundle, RAFVR, 31 years old

Investigations revealed that one of the flash bombs in the bomb bay had exploded, damaging a fuel line and causing it to catch fire. These bombs were intended to be dropped above the target to illuminate it.

A monument and a plaque with information about the incident have been erected at the site where the wreckage of the aircraft came down.

Do you have more information about this location? Inform us!

Source

  • Text: TracesOfWar
  • Photos: Ian Brandt

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