Beaufighter R2153 in its early life with 252 Sqdn, its sister aircraft would crash on Urra Moor afew years later.
This Beaufighter flew into Urra Moor on the 28th of April 1943 at 23.16hrs during a night cross-country training exercise. No cloud was reported.
The crew were 45 minutes into their flight when the accident occured, both were killed. It was though the reason for the crash was that they
simply were not flying high enough to clear the high ground.
The aircraft was built to contract 983771/39 by The Bristol Aeroplane Company Ltd at Filton and delivered to the RAF in November 1940.
After RAF acceptance it was issued to 252 Sqdn at Chivenor in December 1940 before being transferred to 272 Sqdn at the same station on 3rd April 1941
when the unit moved to Chivenor and started to convert to Beaufighter If's from Blenheim IV's. 272 Sqdn left Chivenor for overseas
duties on 24th May 1941 and their older Beaufighter If's were transferred to other units, R2152 going to 2 (C)OTU at Catfoss where it
had a long life before being written off in the incident detailed above where it sustained Cat E2/FA Burnt damage on 28th April 1943.
Pilot - F/O Peter E Davison RAFVR, aged 20, of Birkenhead. Buried Thornaby on Tees Cemetery, Yorkshire.
Nav - Sgt Eric N Sykes RAFVR, aged 27, of Chorlton-cum-Hardy, Manchester. Buried Thornaby on Tees Cemetery, Yorkshire.
The crash site. Rumour has it that this aircraft first clipped the ground somewhere else and this damaged the aircraft causing it to crash where
the photograph above shows.
Small peices of the aircraft including part of an instrument, some 20mm canon shells and a buckle.
