Hampden near Barton le Street
The Hampden crashed at 04.30hrs and burnt out on the 30th of October 1940 west of the village whilst on return from ops to Berlin.
The target had been the Danzigerstrasse Gasworks, Berlin. The aircraft had iced up on the return part of the flight and became uncontrollable.
All on board baled out and survived.
The aircraft was built to contract B994449/39 by E.E.C. at Salmesbury and delivered directly to 50 Sqdn at Lindholme in September 1940.
It was written off in the incident detailed above with Cat. W/Burnt damage being recorded.
Pilot - P/O Colin J R Walker RAF, aged 25, of Brixham, Devon - ok.
Pilot - Sgt Kenyon S Gowland RAF, aged ? of ? - ok.
W Op / Air Gunner - Sgt Douglas O Cole RAFVR, aged 20, of Tottenham, Middlesex - ok.
Air Gunner - Sgt Kenneth Emm RAFVR, aged 23, of Wallisdown, Bournemouth, Hampshire - ok. Husband of Ella Elizabeth Emm.
I have yet to visit the site. I am led to believe that a dig took place at the site in the mid-1980s with a propeller being recovered,
it resided outside a house in Slingsby until 2007 but has now gone.
Only six days after the crew baled out of their Hampden over Ryedale they were back in action in another aircraft.
Hampden X2907 crashed near Ootmarsum in Holland. All four sadly lost their lives, they are buried at Ootmarsum cemetery, Holland.