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Registration
or Serial:
LP760
Operator: Royal Air Force
(19 Operational Training Unit (OTU), 'C' Flight)
Operating Base:
RAF Kinloss
Base
Location: Forres, Moray, Scotland.
Current
Airport Status: Operational
Military Airport
Current
Airport Name:
RAF Kinloss
(Principal airport data courtesy of
John Woodside,
A
Catalogue of UK Airfields)
Aircraft Nickname:
Wimpy (or Wimpey)
Aircraft Type & Background
A medium
bomber, of which there were 16 variants, the first Wellington
bombers were powered by two 1,050 hp Bristol Pegasus Mk. I radial
engines. It had a maximum speed of 235 mph (410 km/h)
Like the Vickers Wellesley, the Wellington was constructed using a
geodetic (lattice) framework to provide additional strength and
durability for the fuselage. As a result of this design by Barnes
Wallis, Wellington bombers were able to survive and return safely to
base even after sustaining considerable damage.
The first
Wellingtons entered service with No. 9 Squadron RAF. Later, an
improved version entered service with RAF Bomber Command. The
aircraft carried a crew of six.
Aircraft Accident Details
Wellington LP760 of 19 OTU had taken off from RAF
Kinloss on the evening of 20 April 1945. The aircraft was on a
cross-country flight.
While the aircraft was cruising at 5,000ft, eyewitnesses reported
seeing a flash in the overcast sky followed by an explosion. At the
time, the Wellington was flying over the village of Humbie in
Lothian. Shortly afterward, debris from the aircraft landed in a
field close
to
Bankhead Farm, in Humbie.
All six crew members
perished in this accident. These were:
-
F/O Aubrey
Glyndwr
Matthews,
Captain (pilot) (26)
-
F/O
Edward Rawlinson, Navigator (23)
-
F/O
Robert Edward Williams (RCAF) Navigator
(20)
-
Sgt Vivian Peter
Dias,
Bomb Aimer (20)
-
Sgt
John
('Jack') Daniel Pulham, Wireless Operator/ Air
Gunner (19)
-
Sgt William
Gourlay, Air Gunner (22)
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