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The
Crash
18 December 1942 They were one
of nineteen crews that had just completed the
course on Stirlings at 1657 Conversion Unit at
Stradishall and were posted to 149 Squadron.
1815, 30
December 1942 The crew took up R9334 for
a 3 1/2 hour Bullseye.
1750, 3
January 1943 They took the same aircraft
up for bombing practice at Rushford Bombing Range.
1910, The aircraft was returning
to base and was instructed by Flying Control to
land on runway 24. After reaching 400 feet of
altitude on final approach, the pilot realized
that the drift was too great for him to land.
Accordingly, he told Control that he was
overshooting and would land on runway 02 which
was more into the wind. Assisted by the bomb
aimer, Tom Whitelock, Laurie commenced the overshoot
procedure on the Stirling.
A shallow ridge
separated the village of Lakenheath from the
aerodrome. At this point the Stirling gradually
lost power on both inboard engines. Flaps were
still partly extended and the undercarriage was
still down as they were operated from an
auxiliary on one of the engines. The aircraft was
in a squashing attitude and gradually sank, with
the pilot unable to do anything about it except
keep it straight and level. As they flew beyond
the runway toward the unsuspecting village of
Lakenheath, the descending Stirling's main tyres
were ripped off by high tension lines along the
village's High Street. This set the aircraft on
fire and, as I always remember my father telling
me, the wings knocked off the chimney pots from
some council houses. The aircraft continued to
descend until it ploughed into the far end of the
Lakenheath Playing Field near Undley Road.
Altogether, the whole incident was over in
seconds from the time the pilot started to
overshoot.
Sheer
luck determined that the Stirling came down in
the Lakenheath Playing Field as the pilot could
see nothing in the darkness as the aircraft sank
towards the ground. With the main wheels ripped
off, and the aircraft alight, it was fortunate
that it did not break up as it struck. Laurie
Blair felt that the squashing attitude of the
aircraft contributed to the comparative safety of
the crash landing.
When
the aircraft struck, the pilot was thrown forward
in his seat and struck his head but he remained
conscious. My father was slumped unconscious over
his navigation table. The bomb aimer who was in
the second pilot's seat at the time of the crash
was also thrown forward violently, as he was seen
to be unconscious and draped over the control
column. The armor plated door which separated the
Wireless Operator and the Flight Engineer from
the rest of the forward crew members slammed shut
and buckled upon impact, effectively cutting off
the forward crew. Ammunition was going off and
the fire was beginning to get a good hold. Blair
tried to open the armor plated door but had no
success.
The Flight Engineer, Frank Johnson, described the
crash as an "unearthly experience". He
suffered a broken bone in his ankle but was able
to evacuate the aircraft quickly through the rear
of the aircraft. He and Clark Barker, the RG,
then realized that Ronnie Zambra, the Mid-Upper,
was still inside. After helping him out, they all
headed under a nearby tree. By this time the nose
of the aircraft was burning fiercely and could
not be approached.
The
RAF crash tender had arrived within a few minutes
and soon the fire, which was contained to the
cockpit and nose of the aircraft, was out. Guards
were quickly posted around the crashed site and
no unauthorized personnel were allowed near. The
surviving crew members were taken to hospital on
the base, since all received various minor
injuries.
The
aftermath
Laurie Blair did
not return to the squadron for a month since he
received a gash on the head requiring 27 stitches.
Frank
Johnson spent at least 14 days in the
hospital recovering from a broken bone in his
ankle. Apparently on the night before the crash,
Frank went partying with another crew. In order
to return to base they misrepresented themselves
and used service transport. A WAAF turned them in
and they were all placed on a charge and
recommended for Court Martial. Frank had to
continue flying due to a shortage of crews in the
squadron and was involved in the crash. While the
others were sentenced to 14 days detention Frank
was permitted to serve his 14 days while in the
hospital!
W.
H. Clayton, the Wireless Operator,
during this period chose to crew up with FSgt F.A.
Pearson. This was a fateful decision for him as
he was killed in EF330 on 12/13 March 1943 when
it was shot down by a night fighter at Bergh,
Netherlands during a raid to Essen.
The
remainder of the crew was also offered the
opportunity to recrew but they chose to stick
with their skipper and flew as a crew again; Laurie
Blair did four 'second dickey' trips,
and they commenced their operational tour on 27
February 1943 with a gardening op to Bordeaux.
All survived the war but Ronnie Zambra.
Ronnie
Zambra died in August 1944 while flying
re-supply drops during the Warsaw Uprising with
31 Sqn SAAF out of Foggia, Italy. As the rear
gunner on a Liberator he was the only one to bale
out when the aircraft was shot down by the
Russians but was too low for the chute to open.
He was buried in Warsaw.
Eyewitnesses
| Tom
Burrows was on duty in the crash tender
this night; parked next to Flying Control located
on this ridge near the end of runway 24. They
always parked here since it was possible to view
the entire airfield including the dispersals. Tom
remembers hearing the engines open up as the
pilot commenced the overshoot and seeing it pass
by very close to them, barely clearing the ridge.
It then vanished into the night followed by
complete silence. |
| Harold Howarth, SAA member, remembered the
crash very well, since at the time he was on his
way into Lakenheath village. He heard the
aircraft pass over and he hardly paid any
attention to it until he heard the engines' note
alter at a much lower height. Shortly afterwards
he heard the unmistakable sounds of a crash
landing. He made his way to the crash site
quickly to offer assistance. |
| Mr.
M. G. Rutterford
was with his wife
sitting by the fireside when suddenly they heard
a tremendous rushing noise, almost like a tornado.
Upon opening his front door, he saw an awful mass
of flames. The thorn hedge 40 yards from their
bungalow was blazing fiercely, 20 yards beyond
lay the dying Stirling. At the time many of his
neighbors thought that the Stirling had crashed
onto his house. He ran across the road and into
the field where the aircraft was fiercely burning.
When Mr. Rutterford arrived near
the aircraft he met his longtime friend, Mr.
Frederick Sharpe Bullen, [PICTURE] whom he
told to be careful upon approaching the crash. Mr.
Rutterford returned to his house to get his
protective tin hat and to put his lamp out in
case of explosion. By the time he returned to the
aircraft, Mr. Bullen had already assisted two of
the forward crew to safety. The citation for the
British Empire Medal which he received for his
actions states that " ...the
aircraft was burning fiercely, ammunition was
exploding in all directions and there was a
danger that the petrol tanks might explode. (He had
no idea whether or not the aircraft carried any
bombs.) With difficulty he managed
to open the escape hatch and assist a dazed and
injured airman to safety. (This
was likely my father.) He
returned to the burning wreckage to help another
airman to get away who was dazed and in danger of
being burnt. (This would have been
the pilot.) Mr. Bullen sustained
slight burns. His brave action, which led to the
saving of life, is worthy of high praise."
Mr.
Bullen and Mr. Rutterford then assisted RAF
personnel in removing the body of Tom Whitelock
from the cockpit floor onto a stretcher. He was
later buried in Manchester.
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| Mr.
B. Flack was milking in the cow yard of
his farm house next to the Rutterford bungalow.
He later told his daughter, Mrs. J.
Barker (no relation to the rear gunner),
who was present in the house at the time of the
crash, that the Stirling looked like the devil
coming out of the sky. He threw out his milking
pail and lantern and ran to get his family into
the ditch at the back of the house. He was afraid
that the aircraft could have had bombs on board.
Mrs. Barker told me that they never did find
either the pail or the lantern afterwards. She
remembers her father being particularly concerned
that the family keep the doors closed to observe
the blackout regulations - all this with a
Stirling blazing almost in the front yard! Mrs.
Barker's aunt suffered a heart attack when she
heard of the crash - she had thought that the
aircraft had hit her sister's house! Laurie
Blair collapsed shortly after he cleared the
aircraft and recovered consciousness in the
cottage of Mr. and Mrs. Flack. Mrs. Barker
remembers clearly the chaos in her parents' house
that night with it being full of RAF personnel.
She also remembers the look on the face of one of
the crew that suffered concussion. Wing Commander
Michael Waase, the squadron commander, was
present and informed Blair that my father was all
right but that Tom Whitelock had been killed on
impact. Mrs. Barker's mother, Mrs. Flack
subsequently received a letter of commendation
from the RAF for her efforts in tending to the
injured crew.
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| As Harold
Howarth made his way towards the sound
of the crash, he could see a light glowing in the
distance. After scrambling through some hedges he
could see through the trees, figures silhouetted
against the flames. By the time he arrived the
crew had escaped from the wreckage so he walked
around the area just in case someone was lying
injured on the ground. It was at this time he
noticed quite a bit of parachute gear lying about
in the grass although it was not easy to spot.
For some reason, he stooped to pick up a few
small, charred pieces of parachute silk and
rigging lines . He was also dismayed by the
actions of some of the local girls in that they
were actively searching for parachutes so that
they could no doubt use the silk in making items
of clothing. Thanks to Harold, I now have in my
possession some of those bits of the burnt
parachute. |
Footnote:
The Operations
Record Book for 149 Squadron for 3 January 1943 states -
" Training and Maintenance carried out. 3 A/C
detailed for night bombing practice. 1 A/C, R9334 , R89695
Sgt. Blair J.L. Captain, crashed. One member of crew,
657522 Sgt. Whitelock killed. Aircraft was burnt out."
It is interesting to note that the service number
attributed to the pilot was incorrect -in fact it
belonged to my father who was the navigator on that
aircraft.
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