On the 28th of January 1945 the crew of this aircraft took off from Dishforth at 18.30hrs for a night navigation training exercise with a bombing exercise. Soon after setting out the aircraft suffered engine problems, the oil pressure fell resulting in the port outer engine failing. The crew opted to end their training flight and return to base but soon after turning around the aircraft's H2S radio set is believed to have failed. Soon after switching to the GEE set the aircraft broke cloud and crashed into high ground on Heathfield Moor, to the west of Pateley Bridge only 45 minutes into the flight. The aircraft crashed close to old mine workings and broke in half on impact. Sadly four of the crew died as a result of the crash, a further four were injured and one later died. An account of this incident appeared in Brian Lunn's "Aircraft Down II", which appears on Ebay from time to time. The two gunners were able to make their way off the moor to a nearby farmhouse to summon help. The pilot was thrown through the perspex front of the aircraft and landed in a three feet deep snow drift, this probably saved his life. He came round a week later in Harrogate Hospital but never flew again in the War. He returned to Canada in 1946.

Fellow Yorkshire researcher Ken Reast made enquiries locally with regard this incident. He tells that some time after the crash had happened the farmer and his wife at the nearest farm were about to go to when the local doctor knocked on the door to tell the wife to get some hot water on as an aircraft had crashed on the moor behind the house and that any survivors would be brought down to their farm. The farmer got dressed and went up to the crash site with the doctor. Some time later the survivors were brought down to the farm and one of the Canadian crew was so badly injured that he died soon after in the arms of the farmers wife in their kitchen. The wife described him as "only a bairn", suggesting that was probably the youngest airman involved at the age of nineteen. In the years after the War this airmans mother and father located where the farm was and visited Yorkshire to thanks the farmer and his wife for looking after their son in his final minutes and it is thought that they stayed in touch for many years. New information has come to light in 2008 and strangly it is with regard the pilots survival. The AM Form 765c states that the pilot died of his injuries, if this is the case then it seems more likely that it was he who died at the farmhouse as the others who were died in the crash are listed on the Form as being "killed" in the crash. This I doubt as the CWGC database does list a death in this name.

Pilot - F/O Warren (Bud) Hustwitt RCAF (J/27565). of Toronto. Seriously injured.

F Eng - Sgt F G (Fritz) Wright RCAF (R/214164). Seriously injured.

Spare F Eng - Sgt Edward M Bowman RCAF (R/64172), aged 27, of Waterloo, Canada. Buried Harrogate Stonefall Cemetery (sec C, row F, grave 15).

Nav - F/Sgt Keith I Gove RCAF (R/203035), aged 21, of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Buried Harrogate Stonefall Cemetery (sec C, row F, grave 14). CWGC list him as serving with 424 Sqdn at the time of his death, suggesting he had just completed a Tour with them or was about to join them at the time of his death.

BA - F/O Maurice F Stevens RCAF (J/41771), aged 34. of Overbrook, Ontario, Canada. Buried Harrogate Stonefall Cemetery (sec C, row F, grave 13).

W Op/AG - F/Sgt William C (Bill) Watts RCAF (R/223796), aged 19. of Mimico, Ontario, Canada. Buried Harrogate Stonefall Cemetery (sec C, row F, grave 16).

Rear Gunner - Sgt Gerald T (Gerry) Watson RCAF (R/272883). Seriously Injured.

Mid Upper Gunner - Sgt R A (Mac) McIntyre RCAF (R/154735). Injured.

Ted Bowman (photo Jim Rutland) and his grave at Harrogate Stonefall Cemetery. I would like to thank Ms Dominique Toussaint for emailing me in January 2008; who's Uncle, Edward Bowman was sadly killed in this inicident.

This series of photographs depicts Halifax LL576 and it is believed they were taken the day after the crash (by person unknown). I include them here to try and find out their origins. (Photos via Jim Rutland). If they are copyrighted I will remove them or add a correct credit.