9. Llynclys Farm Hampden

0n 30th October 1941, Hampden Mk.I P1294 of 14 Operational Training Unit, Cottesmore, Leicestershire took off for a daylight cross-country exercise.

As the flight progressed, cloud developed forcing the pilot, Flying Officer Kerr, to resort to instrument flying. Of a total of forty-one hours experience on Hampdens, he had flown over twenty-four hours on instruments.

The Hampden was seen later to dive almost vertically from cloud before crashing near Llynclys Farm, three miles from Oswestry. The four crew members were killed. One crew member survived the impact and could be heard screaming by some local people who rushed to the scene to help. Before they reached the aircraft it burst into flames.

The Court of Inquiry report indicated that there was evidence that the pilot had not been properly strapped into his seat, and may have been thrown forward onto the control column in turbulent conditions, causing a loss of control which may have induced severe stress on the wings. Parts of the wings were said to have been lost before the crash.

It is also possible that the pitot head had become frozen, thus giving a false airspeed reading, perhaps leading to the pilot putting the aircraft into a dive which exceeded the strength limitations of the wings.

A metal detector search at the crash site has revealed lots of small fragments from the Hampden. There is a gap in the hedge where the aircraft's nose section passed through.

One interesting piece found was an instruction plate denoting "Tanks to be fitted or removed from wings complete with straps." It would seem that some wing sections remained on the aircraft until the crash.

The crew of P1294 were Flying Officer D.G.Kerr, Sergeant I.M. Williams, Sergeant D.Tatton and Sergeant H.Playforth.