Aircraft crashes in Mourne during the Second World War
Ernie Cromie
During the Second World War, Northern Ireland was one huge aircraft carrier, being the location for 25 military air bases. Collectively, these airfields served a great variety of purposes and it was not unusual for an individual airfield to fulfil two or more roles simultaneously. Some were bases for combatant operations by Coastal and Fighter Commands of the Royal Air Force and squadrons of the Royal Navy’s Fleet Air Arm. One measure of their worth is that aircraft operating from them shot down at least 7 German planes and sank at least 25 U-Boats.
Several of the airfields, including the one at Greencastle, close to Kilkeel, were intimately associated with the modification, re-assembly, repair or temporary storage of large numbers of aircraft. Others, again including Greencastle, had indispensable roles in the formal training of aircrew in service with the RAF or the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF). In fact, thousands of men completed their operational flying training in Northern Ireland before joining combat units elsewhere in the UK and farther afield. In this regard, it is of interest to note that in the early aftermath of the USA’s declaration of war on Germany, it was decided to locate most of the USAAF’s European Theatre familiarization training in Northern Ireland, although in the event activities did not actually attain the proportions initially envisaged.
Inevitably, a price had to be paid for so much aerial activity, the saddest aspect of which was the tragic loss of hundreds of airmen and airwomen killed on active service here, the victims of flying accidents which resulted in hundreds of aircraft being written off in Northern Ireland alone. Poignant reminders of this are to be found in cemeteries throughout the country, in the neat rows of War Graves which are easily recognised by the characteristic Commonwealth War Graves Commission headstones. Nowadays, the aircraft accident statistics seem incredible but, under the prevailing circumstances, they are perhaps understandable. During the War, Northern Ireland was a hive of flying activity associated not only with airfields here but also in Great Britain. Some, such as Limavady and Greencastle, were sited dangerously close to high ground in areas subject to rapid changes in weather conditions, with predictable consequences. Remarkably, though, it would appear that no aircraft flying in or out of Greencastle came to grief for that specific reason. Air traffic control as we know it today was non-existent; such radio aids as were available were sometimes unreliable and observance of black-out regulations added to the natural hazards of night flying. With large numbers of training units based here, accidents were only to be expected but many experienced crews and first-line operational aircraft also perished due to factors such as mechanical failure, errors of judgement attributable to the stresses of operational flying, or just sheer bad luck. Moreover, some crashed aircraft were obsolete or war-weary machines of suspect serviceability.
In such circumstances, aircraft came to grief at many sites scattered throughout Northern Ireland and, to a much lesser extent, Eire. Official records that I have researched indicate that 9 aircraft were written off as a result of crashes in Mourne, plus a further one in Mourne-related circumstances, but this may not be the full story. Chronologically, the aircraft involved and the circumstances are as follows; sites are identified on the attached 1:50,000 scale OSNI map.
Westland Wallace K8699
The first incident, in November 1941, involved a Westland Wallace, a two-seat, single-engine biplane, general purpose type. It originated in 1931 basically as a more powerful version of the Westland Wapiti. By the outbreak of War, most of the 80 or so Wallaces still in service with the RAF had been consigned to target-towing duties and were used by a number of different units until 1943.
One such unit was No 1 Ground Defence Gunnery School, which was based at Ronaldsway in the Isle of Man from 1940 until its disbandment in 1943. Its purpose was to train airmen in gunnery for the defence of airfields against air attack. One of the Wallaces assigned to No 1 GDGS was K8699, prior to which it had been on strength with the Armament Training Camp and Bombing and Gunnery School at Aldergrove, where it towed targets over the Lough Neagh ranges.
On 1 November 1941, for reasons which are the subject of further research, this particular Wallace was in the vicinity of Carlingford Lough when problems developed and the pilot was obliged to carry out a forced landing. This he managed to do in a field just to the east of Ballyedmond House, near the shore of the lough. Damage to the aircraft was not very extensive apparently and it was dismantled before being taken away by road. However, in view of its age and condition, it was decided to write it off.
Wellington X3599
It can reasonably be claimed that the twin-engined Wellington bomber, known affectionately as the ‘Wimpey’, was the mainstay of RAF Bomber Command’s night raids over Germany in the opening phases of the War, before four-engined heavy bombers became available in large numbers. At one time during the winter of 1941-42, Bomber Command could call upon 21 operational squadrons of Wellingtons and in the first 1000-bomber raid, on Cologne in May 1942, over half the aircraft that took part were Wellingtons. Chiefly by virtue of its ingenious geodetic lattice construction, designed by the famous Barnes Wallis, the Wellington was immensely strong and could take a lot of punishment from flak, yet return home safely.
On 16March 1942, a Wellington from No 57 Squadron RAF left its base at Feltwell in Norfolk for a non-operational flight to Aldergrove. The aircraft, serial number X3599, was carrying its normal crew of 6 and a passenger, 24-year-old Miss Barbara Blakiston-Houston from Killyleagh, Co Down, who was a Section Officer in the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force. En route, bad weather was encountered which, in the Newcastle area, took the form of a very low cloud base which obscured the mass of the Mournes. Apparently, due to the prevailing conditions, the crew became disorientated, as a result of which the aircraft strayed off course and, at 12.30 pm, flew into the rock-strewn lower slopes of Thomas’s Mountain at a point near the Black Stairs on the edge of the Glen River.
No aircraft could have survived such an occurrence and the Wellington was totally destroyed by the force of impact and resulting fire. Miraculously, one person survived, albeit injured, but the other occupants were killed, including Miss Blakiston-Houston, who was buried in the family plot at Loughinisland Church of Ireland Graveyard, Seaforde. The pilot, Flying Officer H E Hunter, Royal New Zealand Air Force, age 25, married, from Christchurch and the air observer Flying Officer J W Elliott, Royal Canadian Air Force, age 26, married, from Toronto, were buried in Belfast City Cemetery.
The impact scar attributable to this particular tragedy is still plainly evident; up to 1986 the crash site was also marked by the partially buried and badly damaged remains of the aircraft’s engines. With permission from the Ministry of Defence and the landowner, and helicopter assistance from the Army Air Corps, the engines and other components were moved from the site by members of the Ulster Aviation Society and taken to the Ulster Folk and Transport Museum at Cultra.
Hurricane Z7064
In the early years of the War, pending the availability of sufficient numbers of escort aircraft carriers, the provision of immediate fighter cover to defend convoys against attacks by long-range German aircraft such as the Focke Wulf Condor posed apparently insurmountable problems. As a temporary expedient, Fighter Catapult Ships were created. These were existing auxiliary surface vessels of the Royal Navy which were hastily modified to accommodate two or three fighters, normally Fulmars or Hurricanes. The aircraft were adapted to be individually placed on a special rig in the ship’s bows, from which they were catapulted by means of a special attachment incorporating rockets. After launch and enemy engagement, the pilot had the choice of trying to reach land or ditch in the sea near the convoy, in the hope of being picked up. Pilots and aircraft to sustain this hazardous activity were provided by No 804 Squadron, Fleet Air Arm, which was shore-based at Sydenham, Belfast, from May 1941 to May 1942.
On 1 April 1942, two Hurricanes from No 804 Squadron were engaged in non-regular duties in an Army Co-operation exercise with ground troops in the Annalong area. While carrying out dummy attacks on gun positions close to Head Road, one of the Hurricanes, serial number Z7064, piloted by Sub Lieutenant G P Mollinson, pulled out of a high speed dive too quickly, went out of control, and crashed through a stone wall near Rourke’s Park. Tragically, the young pilot was killed and the aircraft totally destroyed.
Beaufighter X7822
Ballyhalbert airfield, on the Ards Peninsula, was Northern Ireland’s most important fighter station, being responsible for the defence of Belfast and the eastern half of the country. The airfield accommodated considerable numbers and types of aircraft which, by July 1942, included night fighters in the form of Beaufighters of No 153 Squadron, RAF.
On the night of 19 July 1942, Beaufighter X7822 was airborne on a practice interception and radar calibration exercise. Such exercises often resulted in aircraft ranging far out from the airfield. One hour and forty minutes after taking off from Ballyhalbert, X7822 was returning when it flew straight into the southeastern shoulder of Shanlieve Mountain to the northwest of Attical. The aircraft was totally destroyed by the force of the impact and resulting fire, both members of the crew being killed. They were Pilot Officer J P Sadd (pilot), age 24, and Sergeant M Wayne (navigator/radar operator), age 26. Both were taken to England for burial. The resultant Court of Inquiry, finding it impossible to come to a firm conclusion about the cause of the disaster, offered the explanation that in setting course to return to Ballyhalbert, the crew had ‘homed’ on to an incorrect radio beacon.
Wellington X9820
By the autumn of 1943, Wellington aircraft had completed their useful life with RAF Bomber Command. Meanwhile, growing numbers of them were being pressed into fulfilling new roles, including the training of pilots and crews to perform various functions. For instance, No 105 Operational Training Unit, based at Bramcote in the East Midlands of England, was equipped with Wellingtons upon its formation in April 1943 to train aircrew for transporting airborne forces.
The training routine involved a daily shuttle service to and from Nutts Corner, and it was in the course of one such flight on 12 September 1943 that Wellington X9820 met with disaster. Once again, bad weather was a contributory factor, the aircraft being off-course and flying in cloud when it hit the northwestern face of Slieve Commedagh, 150 feet below the summit. Its three crew members were killed: Flight Sergeant J S Price, RNZAF (pilot), age 33, from Invercargill, New Zealand; Sergeant T Brewin, age 20 and Sergeant H A Walters, also age 20. Flight Sergeant Price was later buried in Ardglass Church of Ireland Graveyard.
Following the crash of a military aircraft in the UK during the War, it was customary for the site to be visited by an RAF salvage team in order to make the area safe and recover reusable components or valuable scrap metal for melting down. In Northern Ireland, the RAF unit responsible for this task was No 226 Maintenance Unit, based at Mallusk near Belfast. Notwithstanding the remoteness and rugged nature of the terrain in the vicinity of Slieve Commedagh, Unit personnel were ordered to recover as much wreckage as possible and a salvage team went to the site on 5 October 1943. According to entries in the Maintenance Unit’s Record Book, engines, propellers, wings and part of the Wellington’s undercarriage were manhandled and dragged down a cliff and over a distance of about 5 miles to the nearest point to which a special ‘Queen Mary’ trailer could be brought. To facilitate matters, use was made of a special tracked jeep borrowed from the USAAF at Langford Lodge, supplemented by a tractor. Both vehicles bogged down many times in soft, boulder-strewn ground but eventually, after many hours of arduous work, the process was completed.
Havoc AX924
Reference was made earlier to USAAF training activities in Northern Ireland. These were under the overall administrative control of 8th Air Force Composite Command, which organization was based at Kircassock House near Magheralin in County Down. The organization created specifically for training purposes was known as a Combat Crew Replacement Center Group, four of which were activated here. A CCRC Group was normally located at a particular airfield but the 4th CCRC used two – Cluntoe in County Tyrone and Greencastle in County Down. The function of this particular CCRC was to take heavy bomber crews, each of 10 personnel who had received basic training in the USA, and impart to them the knowledge and skills necessary for combat operations in the European Theatre of Operations. At Greencastle, there was a training school for air-to-air and ground-to-air gunners, to facilitate which the 4th Gunnery and Tow Target Flight was formed there in December 1943. For the most part, the Flight’s duties consisted of towing sleeve targets over the coastal target range at Derryogue. For this purpose it was equipped with several types of aircraft, including twin-engined Havocs, a few of which were on loan from the RAF, as was AX924. During mid-morning on 3 March 1944 however, in conditions of good visibility below a well-broken cloud base at 1500 feet elevation, the aircraft was engaged in simulated bombing of artillery positions manned by US Army personnel on exercise in the valley of the Yellow Water River. As a Captain in a Medical Detachment with the troops later testified, the Havoc had made several runs up and down the valley at very low heights above ground level, in very turbulent wind conditions. On its last run, from north to south, the Captain noticed that the aircraft was flying very slowly, about 200 feet above the ground, when its left wing suddenly dropped and it hit the valley floor about 500 yards east of Crocknafeola Wood in a steep dive, breaking apart and catching fire. The two men on board, pilot 1st Lieutenant George C Woodman from New Hampshire and Staff Sergeant Ovis P Courville from Texas died instantly. They were subsequently buried in the US Military Cemetery at Lisnabreeny near Belfast, from where their remains were exhumed in 1948 and repatriated to the USA for re-burial in their home States.
B-26 Marauder 41-18150
The first CCRC Group to be activated in Northern Ireland, in August 1943, was the 3rd CCRC, which was based at Toome airfield. Its particular function was to train medium bomber crews, each of 5-6 personnel who had also received basic training in the USA. Between August 1943 and October 1944, well over 600 (possibly as many as 800) crews, equivalent to about 3000-4000 men, were trained at Toome and sent to operational squadrons in East Anglia.
No 3 CCRC used two types of twin-engined aircraft, the A-20 Havoc and B-26 Marauder. The latter was one of the most elegant looking bombers to appear in the early years of the War, but earned a bad reputation for being difficult to handle because of high wing loading. This initial problem was soon overcome however and does not appear to have been a significant factor which led to the crash, which occurred on 10 April 1944. On this occasion, the Mournes were again completely enveloped in low cloud and mist which, among other things, made for unpleasant working conditions in the quarries near the head of the valley of the Bloody Bridge River. One of the men working there that day was the late James Cousins of Glasdrumman. Forty years after the tragedy, he recalled for me the minutes before the crash: “We heard the engines of an aeroplane but couldn’t see it because of the mist. The noise was faint at first but got louder and louder as the plane seemed to come in from the sea and fly up towards us. We were very scared it was going to crash on top of us when suddenly the engines revved up and the plane seemed to turn away to the south above our heads. The noise died away and we went back to work, feeling very thankful.”
Remarkably, what James and his work mates did not realize, evidently because the intervening ridge and thick mist effectively prevented them from sensing the impact, was that the Marauder, having apparently changed course just moments too late, had flown into the rock-faced southeast slopes of Chimney Rock Mountain and completely disintegrated, leaving a trail of bodies, wreckage and debris scattered across the side of the mountain and into Spence’s River valley, where one of its engines can be seen to this day, partially buried in rocky ground. Tragically, the crew of five were killed. It was the first fatal accident to an aircraft of No 3 CCRC and, because of the prevailing bad weather, it was several days before the crash site was discovered and the bodies recovered. They were 2nd Lieutenant Howell C Osborne Jr., from Arkansas, 2nd Lieutenant Chester M Turner, from Kansas, Staff Sergeant Roy R Cappe, from Pennsylvania, Sergeant J Gyovai, from Illinois and Sergeant William J Devenney, from Pennsylvania. They were subsequently buried in the US Military Cemetery at Lisnabreeny, Belfast but together with the remains from all 143 additional graves at Lisnabreeny, were exhumed in 1948 and re-interred in cemeteries in their home States, excepting the body of Sgt Devenney, which was re-interred in the US Military Cemetery at Madingly, near Cambridge in England.
According to official USAAF records, the Marauder was one of three which had been on a gunnery training mission near Greencastle and were returning to Toome in formation just prior to the crash. At the resultant Inquiry, the pilot of the Marauder which had been leading the formation testified to the effect that Lieutenant Osborne had been flying 41-18150 on his left wing but well out of position, 400 feet lower and about 1500 feet to the rear. When over the sea about three miles off Kilkeel, at an altitude of 2500 feet, the formation began circling to climb above cloud which was building up over the Mournes (recorded subsequently as stratus cloud at 1000 feet) when 41-18150 disappeared into the cloud and was not heard from again, despite repeated radio calls giving the leading aircraft’s course and altitude. The cause of the tragedy is recorded as: ‘Major cause: pilot error, Minor cause: weather.’
Mosquito NS996
Legendary is an adjective often applied to human exploits; it is also applicable to a few aircraft. The Spitfire is an obvious example; so too is the de Havilland Mosquito. Apart from its largely wooden construction and outstanding performance, the Mosquito was one of the most versatile aircraft ever produced, having served as a bomber, fighter-bomber, night fighter and photo-reconnaissance aircraft to name but a few of its operational roles. In the latter part of the War, Mosquitos were increasingly supplied to Operational Training Units, one of which was No 60 OTU at High Ercall in Shropshire. Its function was to train aircrew in night intruder tactics and from time to time its Mosquitos ranged as far afield as Northern Ireland in the course of night exercises, Long Kesh airfield being the ‘target’ on various occasions.
Whether or not Long Kesh was the target on the night of 12/13 January 1945 is uncertain but in any event NS996 left High Ercall and headed north over the Irish Sea. The aircraft did not return however and searches were initiated but due to the extreme weather conditions that winter, it was not until the beginning of March that the wreckage was identified and the bodies of the two crew recovered from the crash site on the southern slopes of Slieve Commedagh, just above The Castles. In October 1945, a salvage team from No 226 MU went to the site but decided that salvage was too difficult and pointless because of the remoteness of the site and nature of the wreckage, most of which was simply pushed into a nearby ravine and buried. From time to time since then, portions of wreckage have been unearthed and carried downstream by flood waters gushing through the ravine.
A-20 Havoc 43-9924
Following the transfer of the airfield at Greencastle from RAF to USAAF control in August 1943, its initial role was as a satellite facility for the Air Depot at Langford Lodge, where there simply wasn’t enough space to accommodate the many hundreds of aircraft that were arriving annually to be modified, repaired and serviced there for use by the USAAF in the United Kingdom, pending the construction of additional aircraft hardstands which were eventually provided at both airfields. As a result, up until it was closed in May 1945, hundreds of aircraft representing many of the types in the vast USAAF inventory were temporarily stored at Greencastle until they could be taken to the main workshops at Langford Lodge or, in some cases, even processed at Greencastle itself by personnel of the Lockheed Overseas Corporation and USAAF units sent there for that specific purpose.
So it was that, at approximately 1600 hours in the afternoon of 12 March 1945, Havoc 43-9924, piloted by 1st Lieutenant Richard E Townsend from Maryland and with no one else on board, departed Greencastle to fly to Langford Lodge. He took off from runway 21 and commenced a left turn to head north but appeared to be having trouble with the left engine, which kept cutting out. He completed a circuit and lined up for an emergency landing on the same runway, by which time he had shut down the left engine. To make matters worse, only the nose landing gear would deploy, leaving him no option but to attempt a further go-around. Unfortunately, he again made a left turn but this time, contrary to standard procedure in circumstances of engine failure, it was towards the completely dead engine, which resulted in his losing control with the result that the Havoc spun into the sea just offshore from the airfield. Emergency services managed to reach the wreck quite quickly but, regrettably, Lieutenant Townsend was found dead in the cockpit, fatally injured by the impact. He was subsequently buried in Lisnabreeny Cemetery, from where his body was exhumed in 1948 and re-buried in the US Military Cemetery at Madingly, near Cambridge.
Sunderland NJ186
Although the subject of the final incident did not actually come to grief in Mourne, no account of this kind would be complete without reference to it. It occurred on Sunday, 20 May 1945, on which date Sunderland NJ186 from No 423 Squadron Royal Canadian Air Force left its base at Castle Archdale to search for surrendering U-Boats which it was feared might make a desperate dash for freedom through the Irish Sea. Flight Lieutenant Washington, navigator of the Sunderland, takes up the story, “…. The weather was foul. Castle Archdale was socked in tight with no visibility whatsoever. This was not unusual; it was our motto that we flew when seagulls walked! At precisely 0700 hours we became airborne, loaded with 2200 gallons of fuel, a ton of depth charges and full load of ammunition …. It was always disconcerting to me to take off ‘blind’ and I requested we circle to a height of 4000 feet hoping to break cloud before setting course. We didn’t, so I was forced to use a dubious wind forecast and we continued to fly in ten tenths cloud …. Our Sunderland had recently been equipped with an early model radar which appeared to identify physical landmarks appropriate to our intended track. Marvelling at this amazing invention which could render dead-reckoning navigation obsolete, I went to the flight deck and, standing between the 1st and 2nd pilots (Flight Lieutenant Gerry Allen and Flight Lieutenant ‘Ole’ Olsen), I said, ‘we have crossed Ireland and you can now descend over the Irish Sea.’ Instead of descending in normal fashion, our captain in a moment of playfulness or exasperation nosed down and we were in rapid descent. I had just finished saying, ‘for Christ’s sake Gerry, you don’t have to play dive bomber’ when I saw solid land ahead. At the same instant, I saw the 2nd pilot’s left forearm push all four throttles full ahead to the fire wall and his right hand pulled back on the control column. A split second later, we lurched and slowed perceptibly and there appeared in front of the ‘boat an orange flash which blotted out all else. In addition to the surge in engine power, I heard a terrible grinding, crunching sound.”
The Sunderland, which was about 12 miles south of its intended track, had in fact struck the summit of Slieve Fadda near Rostrevor. Miraculously, it was still flying and only one member of the crew had been slightly injured but an inspection revealed that the bottom of the hull was ripped away together with the galley containing stove, table and benches. The starboard float, aileron and wing tip were gone, the radar, radio and electrical systems were seriously damaged and the air speed indicator was unserviceable. In addition, a crack several millimetres wide had developed at the fuselage/starboard wing junction. Fortuitously, not long afterwards, the solid overcast opened, revealing Jurby airfield on the Isle of Man where Gerry Allen managed to crash-land the ‘boat on one runway, in blatant disregard of an instruction from the control tower operator to use an alternative and despite being threatened with court-martial! Despite further damage and a resultant fire, the crew succeeded in evacuating the Sunderland just in time to escape the huge explosion that occurred when the depth charges and fuel tanks blew up, hurling a portion of wreckage half a mile on to Jurby beach and shattering windows for miles around. To add insult to injury, the crew were arrested! Remarkably, a new pilot to the squadron had been on board for a familiarization flight – what an induction!
In June, a team from No 226 MU went to Slieve Fadda and recovered portions of wreckage that had been torn from the Sunderland in the initial impact.
It is entirely possible that this account may stimulate some readers to explore the sites referred to. This is understandable, but please exercise care as the terrain is difficult and potentially dangerous. In addition, it should be borne in mind that people met their deaths at almost all of the sites, which should be treated with due respect. Finally, be reminded that any site investigations which would involve interfering, however superficially, with portions of aircraft, personal artefacts or human remains are subject to licences which can only be obtained from the Ministry of Defence, under The Protection Of Military Remains Act, 1986.
Ernie Cromie
Ulster Aviation Society
August 2013
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