 The Halifax Memorial at Moordown. | |
| Accident | |
|---|---|
| Date | 21 March 1944 |
| Summary | Mechanical failure |
| Site | Moordown, England |
| Aircraft | |
| Aircraft type | Handley Page Halifax |
| Aircraft name | Halifax JP137 |
| Operator | Royal Air Force |
| Flight origin | Hurn Airport |
| Destination | Morocco |
| Occupants | 7 |
| Crew | 7 |
| Fatalities | 9 |
| Survivors | 0 |
On 21 March 1944, a Royal Air Force Handley Page Halifax bomber crashed in Moordown, Hampshire (now Dorset) soon after take-off from RAF Hurn (now known as Bournemouth Airport) killing nine people.
The Halifax, serial number JP137, was dispatched from No 3 Overseas Aircraft Dispatch Unit at Hurn at 00:33 hours bound for Morocco on transfer to the Mediterranean Allied Air Forces in the Second World War. [1] Flying westerly, the plane turned into a wide arc, presumably in an attempt to return to Hurn, it flew over East Howe towards Wallisdown turning south over Talbot Woods and due east over Winton when it descended towards Moordown. [2] The plane clipped buildings, including a Victorian chapel and the tram depot. [3] The plane crashed in a residential area at the corner of Wimborne Road and Meadow Court Close. [4] With a full fuel tank the plane burst into flames. [5] There were no survivors on board. [6] Two civilians were also killed in their homes. [5]
The plane crash resulted in nine fatalities: [5]
From the RAF Volunteer Reserve
In the Royal Canadian Air Force
Civilians
Despite eyewitnesses reporting engine failure, official reports into the crash squarely blamed the 20-year-old pilot Denis Evans. [7] However it is now believed that a known design issue with the Halifax was the main cause. [5] In 2010, Moordown councillor Sue Anderson advocated a permanent memorial as part of Bournemouth's bicentennial. [8] In 2011, a memorial was unveiled to commemorate the air crash. [9] The 70th anniversary was marked at the memorial. [10]
The Short Stirling was a British four-engined heavy bomber of the Second World War. It has the distinction of being the first four-engined bomber to be introduced into service with the Royal Air Force (RAF) during the war.
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No. 466 Squadron RAAF was a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) bomber squadron during World War II. Formed in the United Kingdom in late 1942, the squadron undertook combat operations in Europe until the end of the war, flying heavy bomber aircraft. Following the conclusion of hostilities with Germany, the squadron began retraining to undertake operations in the Pacific against the Japanese, but the war came to an end before it left the UK. In late 1945, the squadron was disbanded.
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This is a partial list of accidents and incidents involving the Boeing-designed B-17 Flying Fortress. Combat losses are not included except for a very few cases denoted by singular circumstances. A few documented drone attrition cases are also included.
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Moordown is a suburb of Bournemouth, situated in the northern part of the borough. It was incorporated into the borough of Bournemouth in 1901, having previously been part of the Christchurch Rural District.
The Mi Amigo memorial is a war memorial at Endcliffe Park, Sheffield, England, marking the World War II crash site of the USAAF B-17 Flying Fortress Mi Amigo.
Flight Lieutenant David Murray Peden was a Canadian air force officer, lawyer, and author. From 1941 to 1945 Peden served in the Royal Canadian Air Force as a bomber pilot and completed the majority of his tour of duty with No. 214 Squadron of RAF Bomber Command. Following the war he returned to Canada and became a lawyer in Winnipeg. Later in life he authored three books. He is best known for his 1979 memoir A Thousand Shall Fall, which former director of the Canadian Army Historical Section, C. P. Stacey, called "the best book any Canadian has written about his war experiences, and one of the best books about the war that has been written anywhere."
Events from 1944 in England
Flight Lieutenant Jon Egging was a Royal Air Force pilot on the Red Arrows aerobatics display team, who died after crashing into a field in Throop, Dorset. The incident occurred after a display at the Bournemouth Air Festival in Bournemouth, Dorset. It was determined that Flt Lt Egging was incapacitated due to the effects of g-force induced loss of consciousness until very shortly before impact. Egging was the first Red Arrows pilot to die in an aircraft crash in the 21st century, since Flt Lt Neil Duncan MacLachlan, in 1988.
