Wellington at East Moor.

On the 21st of September 1943 at 00.40 hrs this Wellington was landing on return from a mine laying flight to Brest. This was the first 432 Sqdn Operational flight flying from East Moor. On landing the aircraft overshot and sustained damage to the undercarriage, engines and fuselage structure.

The aircraft was built to contract B124362/40 by Vickers Armstrong's at Chester and delivered for MU acceptance in May 1943. It was issued to 432 Sqdn at Skipton on Swale in June 1943 and moved with unit to East Moor on 16th September 1943. It sustained Cat. B/FB damage following this incident and was taken away and repaired in works. On completion of repair it was issued to 12 OTU at Chipping Warden in late 1943. It went into MU store when unit disbanded on 22nd June 1945. It was then struck off charge as scrap on 12th May 1947 after a long period of storage.

Pilot - P/O Stanley K Atkinson RCAF, of Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Nav - Sgt Leo F Cook RCAF, of Lindsay, Ontario, Canada.

BA - Sgt W A Grant RCAF. (?)

W Op / Air Gunner - P/O Alfred W Chubb RAFVR, of Forest Gate, Essex. Husband of Hilda Jessie Chubb.

Rear Gunner - Sgt H Turner.

All the above named (with the exception of Sgt Turner) were on board Wellington HE817 when it went was reported missing days after this incident at East Moor. On 27th September 1943 their aircraft was lost on Ops. Sgt Grant became a POW; and of the others on board, a F/Sgt Irvine C R Bowden RAF was never found and Sgt S C Bybee USAAF became a POW.

The entry in Chorley's Bomber Command Losses book states the aircraft was missing, this was assumed to mean it crashed into the sea, as may such entries mean. In November 2007 I was contacted by the neice of F/Sgt Leo Cook, she informs me that the aircraft did not crash into the sea but came down at Schulensbergerlandstrasse 107 in Hanover and that an inquest in October 1948 confirmed that Turner was not with those found but four unknown airmen were buried in Hanover War Cemetery having been found in the wreckage of this aircraft. I would like to thank Ms K Pakenham for contacting me and for this information.