DescriptionThe remains of this aircraft are designated as a Controlled Site under the Protection of Military Remains Act 1986. For further information on this Act and its administration with regard to aircraft, please contact the Joint Casualty and Compassionate Centre, RAF Innsworth, Gloucester, GL3 1RZ.
Visible wreckage includes bent crankshafts, split propeller hubs and engine blocks, which much general wreckage spread over a large area.
Event and Historical Information:
On 5 September 1943, this Lancaster was undertaking a cross-country night flying exercise from Winthorpe when it crashed north of Fan Foel at around 620m. The crew comprised Sgt N T Duxbury, pilot; Pilot Officer V R Folkerson, navigator; Sgt R Wilson, bomb aimer; Sgt F W Pratt, wireless operator; Sgt L Holding , flight engineer; Sgt J G Curran, mid-upper gunner; Sgt J G Buckey, air gunner and Pilot Officer R F E Johnson, an extra bomb aimer. All 8 crewmembers were killed. The RAF Inquiry reported that the exact cause was unknown, but that the aircraft would appear to have been underpowered when it struck the ground. On 5 September 1993, family members were flown to the crash site from RAF Brawdy and a memorial stone was erected.
Sources include:
Brecon Beacons National Park, 1995, Identification Guide Aircraft Crashes in the National Park, ID 4
Doylerush, E, 2008, Rocks in the Cloud: High Ground Aircraft Crashes in South Wales, pg28-9, 106, 111
WWW resources:
http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/AboutDefence/WhatWeDo/Personnel/SPVA/AviationArchaeology.htm
Maritime Officer, RCAHMW, November 2007.
