BELOW: Three members of the Jensen family.

Above Left: Oscar Knud Lerche Jensen, RCAF
Above Center: Einar Bay Jensen (father)
Above Right: Sven Ivar Lerche Jensen

 (This photo was taken prior to Sven's
 entry into RCAF service in 1943)

Sadly, W/O A/G Sgt Oscar Jensen, RCAF (above left)
 lost his life in the Wellington accident featured here.

In a separate incident, Oscar's brother, Sven Jensen, RCAF
 (above right) escaped when his aircraft was force-landed
 onto a coral reef while operating out of Nassau in the Bahamas.
(See photos below right.)

Acknowledgments

Information regarding, and photo of this aircraft accident site,
 was kindly provided by Graham Simpson.

Updated information and photo was kindly
 provided by Alan Leishman.

Additional photos, and details of Oscar
 and Sven Jensen were kindly provided by
 Karen Dewar (nee Jensen), Canada.

Registration or Serial: L7845; coded ZT-Z of 20 OTU

Operator: Royal Air Force (20 Operational Training Unit (OTU))

Operating Base: (Possibly) RAF Lossiemouth
  (20 OTU was based here with Wellington bombers.)

Base Location: Lossiemouth, Moray, Scotland.

Current Airport Status: Operational Military Airport

Current Airport Name: RAF Lossiemouth (ICAO: EGQS / IATA: LMO)

(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)

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

This Wellington bomber was on a test flight from either an airfield in former Banffshire (not RAF Banff, as this airfield was not operational until 1943) or from RAF Lossiemouth in Moray. Following this flight, it had been scheduled to take off on a bombing mission.

However, while still undergoing its test flight, the aircraft lost part of a cowling. The dislodged cowling section subsequently damaged one of the propellers, causing engine failure. The Wellington then crashed while the pilot was attempting a forced landing.

The remaining wreckage can be found in the vicinity of Muckle Cairn / East Cairn on the hills above Glen Esk in Angus.

The crash had been witnessed by the pilot of another aircraft, and his report was relayed to Scone Aerodrome (Perth). The authorities at Scone alerted the local police. Very soon P.C. Thomas Campbell headed up the glen (probably, Glen Clova) together with David Laing and David Hanton (head keeper at Cortachy).

On arrival at the crash scene, the rescuers found that all crew members, except the rear gunner, had died in the accident.

The crew who died were:

• A/G Sgt Holman escaped with injuries.

Oscar K. L. Jensen's name is engraved on the family stone in Greenwood Cemetery, Carman, Manitoba. See also memorial entry here.

An island in a lake in northern Manitoba is named after Oscar (Jensen Island).

See also Sven Ivar Lerche Jensen on panel opposite.

Accident Date

9 August 1942

Accident Site

White Hill / Muckle Cairn / East Cairn ridge line, (Upper Glenesk)

Region: Angus

Nearest town or village: Clova (N. of Kirriemuir)

OS Grid Refs: 44 / 382762;

NO 369759;  377766;  392767

Present Condition

Although some large sections of wreckage can still be found onsite, other sections have been removed to museums in the UK. Smaller wreckage parts can be seen at Kirriemuir's Gateway to the Glens Museum.

Related Links

Articles and photos of RAF Lossiemouth and of the Vickers Wellington type aircraft are available at the following sites:

• RAF Lossiemouth at Wikipedia

• RAF Museum

• Kirriemuir Gateway to the Glens Museum

• Sir Barnes Wallis links at University of Dundee

• The Courier (Spitfire article also includes brief reference to Wellington bomber.)

OSCAR KNUD LERCHE JENSEN

BELOW: Commemorative Certificate:

 named after

 Issued by Canadian Permanent Committee on Geographical Names

The inscription on the lower right reads:

"Lives of great men all remind us
We can make our lives sublime,
And, departing, leave behind us
Footprints on the sands of time."

(Jensen Island is in Semmens Lake, northern Manitoba)

Photo: 2008 K. Dewar

Letter written to Mr. and Mrs. Jensen concerning their son, Oscar's,
 final resting place at Fettercairn Cemetery in Scotland.

Letter Page 1 of 4

Click here for Letter Pages 2 - 4

Note the geodetic structure which strengthened this aircraft very considerably, and enabled it to continue flying after sustaining heavy damage.

Photo: 2006 Tony Tipton (CC-BY-2.5;
 Released under GNU Free Documentation License.)

The photo in this section was kindly provided by
Graham Simpson
and is used here by permission.

BELOW: A rare surviving photo showing the eerie skeletal remains of the Vickers Wellington bomber which crashed on a ridge between White Hill and Muckle Cairn in Glen Esk, Angus.

Note the geodetic structure throughout this aircraft's fuselage and wings. Although unable to protect the crew on this occasion, geodetic strengthening saved many lives by allowing combat damaged Wellingtons to continue flying and to return safely to base.

Photo: © 1951-2008 Graham Simpson

This photograph must not be reproduced
 without the written consent of the original author.

"The first time I saw this was in thick mist. I had been left with a pony on the hill to wait for a stag to be shot. Through the wind, I heard a 'tinny' sound—on and off—for about 15 minutes, but no-one answered my calls as to who was out there. I tethered the pony to a rock and walked in increasing circles around it when suddenly a large 'something' loomed into view, and then vanished again in the mist. I was scared stiff!! There should have been nothing there—then suddenly it re-appeared—the tailplane [as seen in the photo above] The tinny noise was some part of the wreckage blowing in the wind." [Written by a witness to the crash scene]

The photo in this section was kindly provided by
Alan Leishman
and is used here by permission.

BELOW: The remains of Wellington L7845 at Muckle Cairn, Glen Esk. This photo was taken in 1998.

Photo: © 1998-2008 A. Leishman

This photograph must not be reproduced
 without the written consent of the original author.

To view other aircraft, please go to the Crash Index page.