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Registration
or Serial:
P2118
Operator:
Royal Air Force
(1406 Meteorological Flight; succeeded by RAF Coastal Command 519
Squadron)
Operating Base:
RAF Wick (18 Grp. Coastal Ops.)
Base
Location: Wick,
Caithness
Current
Airport Status: Operational
Civil Airport
Current
Airport Name:
Wick Airport (IATA:
WIC / ICAO:
EGPC)
(Principal airport data courtesy of
John Woodside,
A
Catalogue of UK Airfields)
Aircraft Nickname:
The Flying Suitcase
Aircraft Type & Background
The
Handley Page Hampden was a five-seat medium bomber which first entered
service with No. 5 Group RAF in 1938. The aircraft had a fixed
forward-facing gun in addition to three manually operated Lewis
guns. However, crew positions in the narrow fuselage were cramped:
hence the nickname, 'the flying suitcase.'
Initially,
Hampdens were used in daylight bombing raids over Germany. However,
due to heavy losses at the hands of the faster Luftwaffe fighters,
Hampdens were withdrawn from this role in 1942.
Hampdens
were used also by RAF Coastal Command as torpedo bombers. This role
ceased, however, in 1943.
Aircraft Accident Details
When the
aircraft featured here crashed, it was attached to
RAF Coastal
Command 519 Squadron—the successor to
1406 Meteorological
Flight.
Another
Hampden (P5443) had taken off from RAF Wick on the morning of 25
August 1943 to assess and report on weather conditions. It's flight
path would have taken it over Iceland, Norway and then back via the
Faeroes to Scotland. In the early afternoon, however, while
over Sullom Voe in the Shetlands, the aircraft issued a distress
call. Apparently, it had experienced engine problems.
In response to the distress call, the Hampden featured here (P2118)
set out to search for the missing aircraft. However, after a
prolonged search, they could find no trace of the missing Hampden.
Ultimately, they set course for their base at Wick.
While over the Scottish
mainland, however, they encountered a severe thunderstorm. As the
weather conditions worsened, the aircraft began to fly off-course. Very soon, it impacted Ben Loyal, just a few miles
from Tongue, but about 80km (c.50 miles) short of its base in Wick.
Of the
four crew on board, only one survived. Those who died were:
-
Flt/Lt
Henry Robert (Mick) Puplett (22) (RAFVR), 519 Squadron Commander
-
P/O
George William Ritchie (age unknown) (RCAF), Navigator
-
Flt/Sgt
Thomas Reginald Trevor Hudson-Bell (20) (RCAF), Observer
Flt/Lt Puplett & P/O Ritchie were laid
to rest in Wick Cemetery. Sgt Hudson-Bell was laid to rest in
Chislehurst Cemetery.
The one
surviving, but very seriously injured, crew member was:
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Accident Date
25 August 1943
Accident
Site
Ben Loyal
(763m / 2,504 ft)
Region: Highland
(Sutherland)
Nearest
town or village:
Lettermore, Ribigill,
or
Tongue
OS Grid Ref:
N/A Present Condition
Some scattered wreckage still
onsite, including engine section, panels and machinery parts.
Related Links
Video Clip
RAF Links
RCAF Links
Other Links
(Hampden
Aircraft)
Other Links
(General)
Below: A Handley Page Hampden
bomber in flight.
Photo: [pre-1950] Taken by an
employee of the UK government. Photo now in the public
domain.
Further
Details
A more
detailed account of this incident can be found at the following
sources:
Acknowledgment:
WW2 People's War is an online archive
of wartime memories contributed by members of the public and
gathered by the BBC. The archive can be found at
bbc.co.uk/ww2peopleswar.
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