- Contributed by听
- Bobby Shafto
- People in story:听
- Pilot Officer J A Martin DFC; Pilot Officer Mac McDonald
- Location of story:听
- RAF Stradishall
- Background to story:听
- Royal Air Force
- Article ID:听
- A4018691
- Contributed on:听
- 06 May 2005
This story was submitted to the People鈥檚 War site by a volunteer on behalf of Pilot Officer John A. Martin DFC (retired) Larne, N. Ireland and been added to the site with his permission. Mr Martin understands the site鈥檚 terms and conditions.
We weren鈥檛 due to fly one day during 1943, and I had a WAF to see in Cambridge, when Mac McDonald came out and said, 鈥淧addy, we鈥檒l have to go to Stradishall and bring an aircraft back.鈥 We went to Stradishall and collected the aircraft. As were coming in to land, right in front of us, two Sterlings collided. Right in front of our eyes, in mid air. The whole lot came down, everyone on board was lost. The worst part was, they had taken up some ground crew for 鈥榓 trip鈥. There were 19 lives lost in that accident. We were about the only crew to finish our first tour in Sterlings, the majority of the others were shot down. Sterlings were lethal, Air Chief Vice Marshal Harris said he wouldn鈥檛 sent 鈥榯he boys鈥 out in Sterlings any more, they were too dangerous. There were so many lost, the top ceiling for them was 13,000 feet. The Lancesters, at that time were able to climb to 20,000 feet. In comparison with other aircraft going up, we were in the middle of them.
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