410404 - Unaccounted (Naval) airmen - 4-4-1941

[Henk Welting]

What caused the death of and/or what were the places of death registration for:

AC1 Dennis FEAR - 642065 - not found Flight archives, and
LA Vivian L. MORLEY - FX.84718 - RN (HMS Daedalus) - not listed website RN Losses WW2.

Proposed aircraft losses for this day:

Magister I - N3799 - 24 ERFTS - flew into ground Sandridge, Hertfordshire.
Oxford I - R6333 - 14 FTS - overshot landing at night Cranfield.

Regards and thanks for your help.
Henk.

[Amrit]

Morley is listed on the RN list - it states he was a casualty of bombing, HMS Daedalus

A

[Alex Smart]

Hi,

N3799
Hit wires low flying and crashed, Sandridge, Herts. 4.4.41.

R6333
Overshot night landing, Cranfield. DBR. 4.4.41.

So says the Air Brit Serials books.
But these aircraft are RAF losses not RN.
Were 14 FTS and 24 ERFTS responsible for training RN personnel as well as RAF?

CWGC has AC1 Dennis Fear listed as being Royal Air Force, NOT Royal Navy ?

Alex

[Dick]

Hi Henk
Fear,19, is registered at Southend, Essex. I had an e-mail from the RAF Museum that showed that as late as Nov 1940 there were still around 2000 RAF personnel serving in the FAA, mostly as a/c servicing staff, even though the control of the FAA had passed to the Admiralty in 1937. It took the Navy some time to train up their own servicing staff. It would not be unusual, even in early '41, for an AC1 to be with a Naval Squadron but Fear's name does not show up on http://www.naval-history.net/index.htm.
Regards
Dick

[Henk Welting]

Sorry Alex for indistinct subject of this thread. I knew that FEAR was RAF and MORLEY was FAA.
Thanks Amrit for info on Morley. You're correct, MORLEY is on the list RN Casualties WW2 for 4th April 1941. I missed this one.
Regards,
Henk.

[Henk Welting]

Thanks Dick for additional info.
Regards,
Henk.

[dennis_burke]

AC1 D Fear is listed DOAS in Fligth magazine Jun 26th 1941.

[Henk Welting]

Thanks Dennis. Cleaning up backlog ?
Regards,
Henk.

[Laurent Rizzotti]

Don't know if this case is solved, but here is what one can find on the Internet:

Although this part of the country has relatively gentle contours and appears ideal for low level flying, the records show that one particular feature brought down more pilots than any other. Telegraph wires and HT cables were difficult to see even with experienced eyes, and near Turvey one early stretch of National Grid line erected in 1939 brought down two aircraft, with skilled crews on authorised exercises, within a mile of each other during the war. Even when their presence was noted they could still cause disaster, as can be seen in the following accident:

On Friday 4th April 1941 at 18.15hrs Acting Leading Airman (A/LA) V Morley was flying Magister I N3799 of 24 EFTS (Elementary Flying Training School - based at Luton) when he collided with trees in an orchard at Cheapside Farm, near Sandridge, Herts. He was killed instantly. From the evidence of an eye witness it appears that he was low flying and had passed under some telegraph wires some 400 or 500 yards before hitting the trees. He had completed a total of just under 20 hours solo flying, and on that day had completed his elementary training.

FX.84718 Ldg Airman Vivian Lapone Morley, RN, HMS Daedalus, 20, of Fulham is buried at Fulham Old Cemetery, Surrey.

Source:
http://www.mackz.net/cm_samplearticles.htm
http://www.rafcommands.com/forum/showthread.php?t=2585
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sandridge
http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=51.78084,-0.30384&spn=0.1,0.1&t=m&q=51.78084,-0.30384

[Henk Welting]

Thanks Laurent. He was still on my list of airmen unaccounted for with a note that he might have been killed during an air raid. Again one now from the long list; much appreciated.
Regards,
Henk.

[wwrsimon]

Hello

The UK Army & Navy BMD Records on ancestry.co.uk state that he died at Cheapside Farm, Sandridge, Herts., which ties to Laurent's post #9.

Regards

Simon

[jonheyworth]

William Raymond Williams 948075 , attached to 105 MU , drowned whilst bathing

[jonheyworth]

Dennis Fear 642065, was killed at RAF Southend when an aircraft crashed into a hanger in which he was working at 03:25 hours

[jonheyworth]

Eric Keetley 937434 , attached to 115 Squadron , was killed in Wellington R1470 when it was shot down by a JU88 intruder at 00:26 Hours and crashed onto mud flats 2 miles off Kings Lynn