I've been researching my family tree and found details of the above person, who died on the 24 Apr 1944, whilst serving in 425 (R.CA.F.) squadron out of RAF Tholthorpe.
Does anyone have any details of the operation that resulted in his death?
Not an operation as such. He was on board Halifax MZ525, which was on a training flight when it spun in and crashed NE of Topcliffe airfield, killing all on board.
"They Shall Grow Not Old" by Allison & Hayward adds that it was a fighter affiliation exercise they were on and that they went down 2.5 miles NE of Topcliffe.
I have just seen your message relating to the aircrew of the Halifax MZ525 lost on 24th April 1944 over Yorkshire.
Dave Pickering was my mothers cousin and I am trying to find out more about the crew and what happened to them. I wondered whether you had found any further information about your relation and this flight crew? The usual crew of a Halifax bomber was seven in number, do you (or does anyone else) know why there were nine men on this last flight?
Dave had an older brother, Charlie, who died on 10th August 1943 also in a Halifax which was shot down over Belgium on a night raid. Three Belgians recently organized a commemoration for this crew of seven in Belgium, after having traced the families of all seven men. The crew are buried side by side in part of a town cemetery. Apparently this is not the case for the crew of the MZ525.
Cpl. Leonard Russell Wilcox (age 22) from Ottawa, Ontario was a radar mechanic on board to check out the radar equipment in the aircraft when this tragic incident occurred.
Just to either add more mystery or confusion Smith, Campbell and Leech are cited as being Air Gunners along your relative David Pickering (P/O J91050/R105745).
It's an unusual compliment to have 4 Air Gunners aboard unless as the flight detailed this was a Fighter Affiliation exercise and perhaps not comprised of the regular or complete crew. Gillies airtrade is referenced as Pilot.
They Shall Grow Not Old lists the following RCAF personnel as having perished:
Smith, Richmond Wesley - Pilot Officer - Air Gunner J87649 from Nelson, B.C. aged 22
Campbell, Kenneth Peter - Pilot Officer - Air Gunner J90947/R192536 from Victoria, B.C. aged 22
Leech, John Peter - P/O - AG J88346 from Toronto, Ont.
That leaves a few RAF members for which I have no immediate sources to reference for your research. Hopefully some others can shed additional light. What a price that two brothers were killed on active service just 8 months apart. The loss to the family is difficult to fathom.
Anonymous , surely the normal crew number for a Halibag was 8 ! A Lancaster was 7. I don't know much about the Halifax but there could quite easily be an extra bod , even a second pilot at times, learning the ropes.? Manxix
As for Charlie Pickering and his crew it is believed they were shot down by Lt Norbert Pietrek of 2./NJG4 for his 2 victory he would get one more that night, a Lancaster from 61 Sqn before he injured in a crash on the 1/10/43 on a transit flight and did not fly again during the war.
Thank you for this additional information.It was indeed a tragedy for the family to lose two sons volunteers in the Royal Canadian Air Force in a war so far from home.They were buried where they fell and their family, like so many other families who lost relatives, was not able to visit their graves, so far away.The recent ceremony in Belgium for Daves brother and the other crew members was the first opportunity for most of the seven families invited to visit the cemetery.It is a great comfort to know that the Belgian people are so devoted to keeping their memory alive and honouring their sacrifice. It was a deeply moving experience.
Seven (7) is the normal compliment and mix of aircrew trades for either of the principal RAF Heavy Bombers (Halifax or Lancaster). Some PFF crews had an additional Navigator and some Special Duties Squadrons carried an additional Wireless Operator (a German speaking member who operated the Jostle transmitters to misdirect fighter controllers) but this was not the norm. It seems unusual that there would be four Air Gunners aboard and not even one of them being a Wireless Air Gunner. Typically the RAF provided the Flight Engineers for Canadian Squadrons (such as 425 "Alouette"). Relatively few Flight Engineers were the product of the BCATP. That would leave one RAF member and of course the USAAF member (likely a Pilot) as there are numerous examples of Americans enlisted in the RCAF. However if the crew list is correct then Pilot Officer should not be his rank - more likely 1st or 2nd Lieutenant I believe. Interesting to note, is that the original list has the Canadians with their NCO ranks (Sgt.) and apparently they had received promotion to Commissioned Officers of P/O rank by the time of this incident.
Just makes me wonder if the Fighter Affiliation Exercise they were on meant they were carrying an additional Pilot and multiple Air Gunners to switch off in the turret positions. As I understand it, F/A exercises generally involved encounters with friendly aircraft playing the role of the "attacker" allowing evasive manoeuvers practice (The "Corkscrew") and coordination of the MUAG and RG turret positions in both their respective fields of defensive firing and timing of communications. Often Hurricanes, sometimes Spitfires and even Mosquitos were used as these "attacking" fighters. I presume cine-cameras were used in place of actually firing live rounds of ammo but then again my Dad's Pilot once told me that when they were airborne on various training flights regs called for at least one gunner to be aboard and they flew fully armed just in case of a chance encounter with the other side.
Also makes me wonder if there wasn't a catastrophic structural failure of perhaps the wing for the aircraft to have spun into the ground as it is reported having done. Unless there was a severe engine failure (two on one side) or the rudder lock over that plagued the early Marks of Halifax the occurance, though not unheard of, is unusual. I'd have to wonder if there would have been a Board of Inquiry. At OTU Dad's crew loaned a member of their crew out one night to another crew for a F/A exercise and the fighter collided with the Wimpy killing all aboard.
I expect more details are available out there to provide further explanation.
Many thanks for this additional very interesting information. I have read about the Corkscrew manoeuvre, and interestingly the report of the accident indicates the plane spinning down. Could this maybe indicate this manoeuvre having gone wrong? Pure conjecture, the Halifax seems to have had some important structural problems and any number of hypotheses can be envisaged. Many questions, few answers!
Today October 12, 2016 I had the honour of escorting my mother, the younger sister of Cpl Leonard Wilcox to the Turning of the Page ceremony in the Peace Tower in Ottawa Canada. Today was the day that the page inscribed with my uncle'a name was turned to. Has any more details surrounding the crash or why Cpl Wilcox a ground based radar tech was on the flight? Thank you.
