1942 Glen Clova Wellington bomber crash

[davidexige]

We’ve wanted to do this walk for a while and managed to do it the other day, the task was to find the crash site of a Wellington bomber that crashed in 1942 at Muckle Cairn, Glen Clova. The first part of the trek is the hardest with an assent of 2500ft over a couple of miles, it then levels off and is much easier for the next few miles. It was at this point that I found I had to do some proper map reading, something I’ve not done for some time, anyway eventually we came upon the first debris field where there’s quite a lot of wreckage still visible including both engines and wing sections, moving on there's also a large tail section still intact sitting a couple of hundred metres from the main crash site. After spending an hour there, it was time to head back, I’d like to say coming back down off the hills was easier but it was a bit of a killer on the calf’s. However, there is a nice hotel back where we parked, so was able to recuperate with a cold shandy.

Here’s a bit of historical background information regarding the crash.
“The Wellington Bomber crashed on a test flight from RAF Lossiemouth in Moray on 9th August 1942. 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. Unfortunately all crew members, except the rear gunner, died in the accident”.

[GliderRider]

One would have thought the RAF and Brooklands museums would have wanted all that geodetic structure and those engines. Is the fact that the site is a war grave that prevents its removal and preservation?

[anonymous-user]

As above, and well done on a mini adventure… and, it’s amazing how much is there after all this time.

[Tony1963]

GliderRider said:

One would have thought the RAF and Brooklands museums would have wanted all that geodetic structure and those engines. Is the fact that the site is a war grave that prevents its removal and preservation?

There are so many crash sites all over the country. The RAF has no money or trained fighter pilots, so recovering wreckage isn't high up the list these days. Why would Brooklands want wreckage when they've a far more complete aircraft?

[Ayahuasca]

Always a bit moving to come across a crash site on the hills.

There are quite a few on Bleaklow moor in Derbyshire .. a B29, with lots of wreckage visible including the engines, a Dakota, a Lancaster (just bits of molten aluminium), all within 1km of each other .. lots of others scattered around too. Similar on Kinder Scout.

[davidexige]

Ayahuasca said:

Always a bit moving to come across a crash site on the hills.

There are quite a few on Bleaklow moor in Derbyshire .. a B29, with lots of wreckage visible including the engines, a Dakota, a Lancaster (just bits of molten aluminium), all within 1km of each other .. lots of others scattered around too. Similar on Kinder Scout.

The B29 Superfortress and the Dakota were the first crash sites I visited back when I was a teenager, which was quite some time ago now. I never new about the Kinder Scout sites back then, even though we lived at the foot of the hill.

[anonymous-user]

Asbolutely fascinating!

What was the outer skin made of, some sort of canvas? It presumably has long since rotted away?

Also interesting that it's a war grave - presumably the poor crew are still scattered up there somewhere in that case?

[Eric Mc]

The Wellington was built up using a curved structure made from extruded aluminium sections - known as a geodetic design. The framework was then covered in linen which was doped to taughten it and make it airtight and then painted.

Wellingtons under construction -



The RAF Museum's Wellington is currently being restored at Cosford. You can see the structure in this picture -

[davidexige]

Southerner said:

Asbolutely fascinating!

What was the outer skin made of, some sort of canvas? It presumably has long since rotted away?

Also interesting that it's a war grave - presumably the poor crew are still scattered up there somewhere in that case?

From an article I read it would appear the remains of the crew were recovered, three of them are actually buried in a local cemetery.

Edited by davidexige on Tuesday 9th August 09:54

[5 In a Row]

davidexige said:

Southerner said:

Asbolutely fascinating!

What was the outer skin made of, some sort of canvas? It presumably has long since rotted away?

Also interesting that it's a war grave - presumably the poor crew are still scattered up there somewhere in that case?

From an article I read it would appear the remains of the crew were recovered, three of them are actually buried in a local cemetery.

Edited by davidexige on Tuesday 9th August 09:54

That was always my understanding - especially in cases as, relatively, simple as this one where the wreckage is above ground.

[Ayahuasca]

Southerner said:

Asbolutely fascinating!

What was the outer skin made of, some sort of canvas? It presumably has long since rotted away?

Also interesting that it's a war grave - presumably the poor crew are still scattered up there somewhere in that case?

https://youtu.be/zlVLZ230iFs

https://youtube.com/watch?v=zlVLZ230iFs&featur...


This video is from 1943 and shows a Wellington being build from scratch it 30 hours by workers in their spare time.

[Dr Jekyll]

Eric Mc said:

So they've found a nose turret from somewhere. Definite improvement.

[Wacky Racer]

[Rower]

A sad but interesting point was that only the rear gunner survived .

I understood that the rear gunner was the most vulnerable crew member if the plane went down , because if the aircraft was hit by enemy fire the mechanism to rotate the pod in which the gun and crewman was located was likely to have been damaged so the pod could not be moved to allow the crewman to get out .

[Eric Mc]

Dr Jekyll said:

So they've found a nose turret from somewhere. Definite improvement.

It's had a nose turret for a long time. Last time I saw it at Hendon it had its nose turret fitted.

[davidexige]

Ayahuasca said:

https://youtu.be/zlVLZ230iFs

https://youtube.com/watch?v=zlVLZ230iFs&featur...


This video is from 1943 and shows a Wellington being build from scratch it 30 hours by workers in their spare time.

Thanks for posting that, very interesting to watch.

[Bigdek67]

I did this walk in the mid ‘80’s, nice to see the tail section still there as I’d heard it had been removed in recent years.
On the subject of recovering the crew:
The chap I visited this site with was involved with the ATC and they’d been given permission to excavate another wreck not too far away from this one.
All the appropriate permissions had been granted as the unfortunate crew had been recovered in 1943.
However, as they were doing the dig they started to recover evidence of human remains so the site was backfilled and a report sent to the authorities. Seems the recovery crews maybe weren’t as diligent as they could have been. ☹️

[Punctilio]

Is there a memorial nearby ?

A similar tragedy occurred exactly a fortnight later when a Short Sunderland crashed at Dunbeath killing
all but one of its 15 passengers, including the King's brother [ I think ] the Duke of Kent.

In this crash the radio operator/gunner also survived.

[davidexige]

Bigdek67 said:

I did this walk in the mid ‘80’s, nice to see the tail section still there as I’d heard it had been removed in recent years.
On the subject of recovering the crew:
The chap I visited this site with was involved with the ATC and they’d been given permission to excavate another wreck not too far away from this one.
All the appropriate permissions had been granted as the unfortunate crew had been recovered in 1943.
However, as they were doing the dig they started to recover evidence of human remains so the site was backfilled and a report sent to the authorities. Seems the recovery crews maybe weren’t as diligent as they could have been. ??

The article I read reported that a group did try and recover the tail section but the land owner refused permission, however they had already started moving it, this might explain why it's located away from the main crash site.

[davidexige]

Punctilio said:

Is there a memorial nearby ?

A similar tragedy occurred exactly a fortnight later when a Short Sunderland crashed at Dunbeath killing
all but one of its 15 passengers, including the King's brother [ I think ] the Duke of Kent.

In this crash the radio operator/gunner also survived.

I don't think there's a memorial for this one.

Just reading about the Sunderland crash and found this quote quite interesting,

"Sergeant Andrew Jack, the aircraft's Wireless Operator/Air Gunner, survived. Jack recovered from the injuries he sustained in the accident, was later commissioned as a Pilot Officer in the General Duties Branch on 12 January 1945,[13] and served in the RAF up until 1964; retiring as a Flight Lieutenant.[6][14] Jack died in Brighton in 1978 aged 56.[15]

Flight Sergeant Jack's niece has claimed that Jack told his brother that the Duke had been at the controls of the plane; that Jack had dragged him from the pilot's seat after the crash; and that there was an additional person on board the plane whose identity has never been revealed."