Military aircraft crashes in the south west Midlands - 1950 to 1988

Details of the crashes and the names of the aircrew involved appear on this page. Please contact us if you are related to somebody on the list, or know of a photograph of them. If original photographs or papers are still in the family, we can help to caption photographs and explain the codes and nicknames that were used at the time. We appreciate the opportunity to copy original material for the museum's archive.

The Midland Aircraft Recovery Group has found the sites of many of the crashes, but we are still looking for a significant number, so we'd like to hear from anyone who can pinpoint a crash that we've listed. We are always looking for photographs, log books and anecdotes relevant to the units based in the Midlands.

The details below are have been compiled from numerous sources of information in the public domain over many years. We've done our best, but errors are inevitable. Please contact us if you have more accurate information on any of the crashes or people listed, or can add the names of crew that we haven't traced. Thank you.

06/06/1950 Harvard FE761 of 2 FTS crashed in forced landing at Southam. Fate of crew unknown.

21/12/1950 Meteor VT342 of Telecommunications Flying Unit crashed at Bransford, cause unknown. Pilot F/Lt D J M McDonald killed.

09/01/1951 Harvard FS883 of CFS suffered and engine failure after take off from Moreton-in-Marsh; hit hut. Pilot F/Lt C R Eendued (?) and second pilot F/O Sonthi Siang Suke (Siamese) were both OK.

24/01/1951 Harvard FX307 of CFS crashed at Pebworth. Pilot F/Lt R B Jackson and co pilot F/Lt L A Green both killed.

26/02/1951 Harvard KF496 of CFS tipped up on landing at Moreton-in-Marsh and caught fire.

08/03/1951 Harvard KF173 of 22 FTS iced up and abandoned at Swinford. Parachute did not deploy; I H Schofield was killed.

26/04/1951 Harvard FX301 of CFS collided with Harvard FX438 of the same unit on approach to Moreton-in-Marsh. They fell upside down near a bungalow. C W Fortier was killed and D F Orchard was injured in FX438.

20/06/1951 Harvard FS884 of CFS caught fire on ground at Moreton-in-Marsh and destroyed.

22/10/1951 Harvard KF564 of 6 FTS was abandoned at night near Pershore after the engine cut. Pilot F/O D W Bennett and 2nd pilot O/C I H Donaldson OK.

03/11/1951 Vampire WA364 of 605 Squadron crashed on take off from Honiley. P/O A P Belcher was injured.

08/12/1951 Harvard FS736 of 1 FTS struck off charge at Moreton-in-Marsh after flying into a tree.

02/01/1952 Harvard FS816 of 1 FTS ran out of fuel and crashed into a wood at Tredington. Pilot acting P/O F Allanach was killed.

14/03/1952 Meteor VT283 of 20 AFS undershot landing at Moreton-in-Marsh. Pilot S/Ldr E F Mack, medical officer, was killed.

18/03/1952 Oxford HN762 of 9 AFTS was abandoned after it went into a spin at Offchurch. A/P/O E R Rayner was unhurt.

07/04/1952 Oxford DF308 of 9 AFTS ran off the taxyway and nosed over at Wellesbourne Mountford.

24/04/1952 Oxford NM801 of 9 AFTS ran into soft ground while landing at Long Marston and overturned. Instructor F/Lt T D Taylor and pupil A/P/O G R J Coleman were unhurt.

04/06/1952 Oxford NM548 of 9 AFTS crashed at Stratford after spinning, possibly due to carbon monoxide poisoning. Pilot A/P/O D G J Browning was killed.

28/07/1952 Oxford RR382 of 9 AFTS was hit by Oxford LX431 at night, at Wellesbourne Mountford.

28/08/1952 Tiger Moth T5828 of RAF Honiley hit an obstruction when taking off from Honiley and was destroyed by fire. The pilot and passenger were unhurt; names not traced.

29/08/1952 Prentice VS632 of 1 FTS hit trees at Broadway. S/L M S Crotty and A/P/O J Archer were both injured.

12/09/1952 Harvard FS914 of 1 FTS was hit by Harvard KF397 on the runway at Moreton-in-Marsh.

08/11/1952 Oxford LB474 of 10 AFTS swung on landing at Pershore and the undercarriage collapsed. Names of crew not traced.

11/12/1952 Oxford LW865 of 9 AFTS taxied into Oxford ED805 at night, at Wellesbourne Mountford. Names of crew not traced.

31/12/1952 Oxford HM733 of 10 AFTS suffered a collapsed undercarriage while landing at Long Marston. A/P/O D F Huggett was uninjured.

01/01/1953 Dakota EI-ACF of Aer Lingus force landed at New End near Great Alne. No injuries to crew or passengers.

18/02/1953 Oxford NM648 of 9 AFTS overshot and was damaged beyond repair at Wellesbourne Mountford. Names of crew not traced.

11/03/1953 A sergeant pilot of 613 Squadron crashed during a routine exercise and was killed. 613 was based at Honiley at the time, so it is assumed that a Meteor crashed in the locality – identity of aircraft and pilot not traced.

30/03/1953 Oxford BG271 of 10 AFTS spun into the ground at Malvern Wells while flying on one engine. P/O D C Lewin was killed.

11/04/1953 Oxford NJ301 of 9 AFTS lost height on take off from Wellesbourne Mountford and hit the ground. Names of crew not traced.

10/05/1953 Meteor WA595 of 605 Squadron force landed near Baginton. Crew of 2 were OK.

10/06/1953 Canberra VN828 of Telecommunications Research Establishment overshot single engine landing at Defford.

02/07/1953 Oxford HM723 of 8 AFTS hit the slipstream of another aircraft on approach to Wellesbourne Mountford and undershot. Names of crew not traced.

06/07/1953 Prentice VR201 of 1 FTS hit a tree at Broadway. F/Sgt J S Loomes and A/P/O J B Allinson were slightly injured.

05/08/1953 Harvard KF721 of 1 FTS hit tree while force landing near Redditch. Fate of crew unknown.

04/09/1953 Harvard KF221 of 1 FTS hit tree while avoiding birds; written off on return to Moreton-in-Marsh.

02/10/1953 Chipmunk WP842 of 10 AFTS spun into Tiddsley Wood near Pershore. Pilot survived.

05/11/1953 Harvard KF290 of 9 FTS swung on landing at Wellesbourne Mountford and undercarriage collapsed.

31/12/1953 Balliol WG179 7 FTS force-landed at Pailton. J Sievwright was unhurt.

26/03/1954 Meteor WA734 of 605 Squadron swung on take off at Honiley; undercarriage raised to stop.

18/05/1954 Wyvern VZ747 crashed at Pailton during engine-out tests. Armstrong-Siddeley’s chief test pilot, Mr E S Griffiths, was killed.

26/06/1954 Auster WE541 of 663 Squadron stalled at low altitude and hit the ground at Barston; R D Harrison, Royal Artillery, was killed. 

04/07/1954 Sea Fury TF967 of 1833 Squadron force landed at Wolvey. Sub Lt E Taylor escaped with cuts and bruises.

25/08/1954 Harvard FX202 of 1 FTS broke up recovering from dive near Stow-on-the-Wold. R McTavish and R O F Fields were killed .

31/08/1954 Harvard KF590 of 1 FTS belly landed in a field at Broadway.

03/09/1954 Harvard FX256 of 1 FTS force landed when engine failed on take off from Moreton-in-Marsh. D N Chambers was unhurt.

30/11/1954 Harvard KF233 of 1 FTS belly landed in error at Moreton-in-Marsh.

31/12/1954 Harvard KF280 of 1 FTS swung on landing at Moreton-in-Marsh and undercarriage raised to stop.

04/08/1955 Ashton WB492 RRE Defford: was beyond economic repair after an engine fire.

09/08/1955 Meteor WL158 of 54 Squadron suffered an undercarriage collapse at Baginton.

15/10/1955 Attacker WZ302 1833 Wroxhall Stalled on approach to Honiley airfield and crashed into Hay Wood. Pilot Lieutenant William Fletcher was killed.

16/10/1955 Meteor WH115 of 605 Squadron overshot landing at Honiley. Pilot F/O Mayne and passenger OK.

21/10/1955 Venom WE479 of 187 Squadron crashed in forced landing near Malvern. F/L H K Sellers was killed.

27/11/1955 Vampire WA457 of 605 Squadron hit trees at Honiley. P/O G O Hauser died of his injuries the following day.

15/07/1956 Attacker WP283 1833 Stalled on approach to Honiley airfield and crashed 150 yards short of the runway, killing John Stewart Kearney, age 15, who was aircraft spotting on the road. Pilot Sub-Lieutenant Robert Neill was bruised and shocked.

16/09/1956 Vampire VV479 of 605 Squadron bellylanded on the runway at Honiley following engine failure. F/O R L Smalley was unhurt.

07/10/1956 Dominie G-AGLR operated by Don Everall (Aviation) Ltd crash-landed at Berkswell. The pilot and passengers escaped unhurt, but the aircraft burnt out.

07/02/1961 Provost XF893 of 6 FTS dived into the ground out of cloud at Great Whitley. Names of crew not traced.

22/04/1961 Valiant WP200 crashed on take off from Pershore. One civilian on board broke his legs, but there were no fatalities. Names of crew not traced.

16/06/1961 Pioneer XL664 of the AAEE undershot a forced landing at Kidderminster following engine failure. Names of crew not traced.

30/08/1961 Jet Provost XM423 of CFS hit a high tension cable at Harvington. Crew baled out OK.

02/10/1962 Victor XA934 of 232 OCU crashed at Gaydon after engine failure. F/L N E Cooke, F/O D F Haynes and P/O J A Cotteridge were killed. F/L E C Gwinnell survived, albeit injured, after ejecting.

12/03/1964 Jet Provost XP639 of CFS collided with XR670 and crew abandoned it near Moreton-in-Marsh.

02/05/1968 Chipmunk WZ874 of CFS hit ground recovering from a spin at Moreton-in-Marsh. Pilot’s fate unknown.

17/07/1981 Jaguar XX113 of 226 OCU crashed after the pilot ejected following a controls failure at Great Malvern.

30/05/1988 Meteor WF791 being flown by the Vintage Pair crashed during an airshow at Baginton. Pilot killed.