Whitley near Raskelf.
On the 3rd of December 1940, this Whitley took off from Topcliffe at 16.32hrs for ops to Mannheim.
For some reason the crew did not release their bombs over the target and brought them home.
Whilst making for their Yorkshire base at Topcliffe the aircraft was force landed near Raskelf at Boscar Wood,
to the east of the village, at around 03.40hrs due to lack of fuel (not suprising given the time in the air), the
wireless had also failed. A fire broke out which caused one of the bombs to explode later (probably at another
time quoted for the crash itself) at around 06.00hrs.
All five crew men were injured and the aircraft badly damaged.
The aircraft was built to contract 38599/39 by Armstrong Whitworth at Baginton and delivered during the first week of September 1940
to 77 Sqdn at Linton-n-Ouse. It moved with the unit to Topcliffe on 5th October 1940. Cat W/Burnt 04.12.40.
Pilot - Sgt N Z Bizley, broken leg and arm.
? - P/O Pearson, injured.
? - Sgt Sewell, injured.
? - Sgt Middleton, injured.
? - Sgt Engel, injured.
I do not know exactly where this occured.
This was Bizley's second crash in a month, he had ditched Whitley off Hornsea in mid November 1940 on
return from Ops to Berlin.