大象传媒

Hello

Please get in contact if you knew my grandfather Claude Lionel Geoffrey Hood, who was at No 5 B & G School at Jurby, Isle of Man (No. 5 Air Observer Navigation School A.O.N.S.), No.10 Operational Training Unit (O.T.U.) at Abingdon and finally 77 Squadron at RAF Driffield in Yorkshire in 1940, when he crashed whilst returning from an Operation in France.

My grandfather's 77 Squadron Royal Air Force Whitley bomber P5044 collided with Balloon cables early one morning 15th August 1940 at about 3.30 am to 3.34 am (03.30 hrs RAF - 03.34 hrs A.A. Intell. Reports and Observer Posts reported time). I have done quite a lot of research, but the main Accident Reports cannot be found.

Please can anyone tell me more about the incident?

Crew:
F/O William Alan Stenhouse, Captain
P/O Robert Butler Macgregor, 2nd Pilot
Sgt Claude Lionel Geoffrey Hood, Air Observer
Sgt John Burrow, W/Op
Sgt Harold Davies, R/Gnr

The Whitley was returning across the English Channel from Bordeaux to its base at RAF Driffield in Yorkshire and was described as "Plane sound plotted UNKNOWN" in the Botley Observer Corps Log, the unknown plane [Whitley] was observed by the Botley Post near Fareham, Hampshire, flying West toward Southampton Water, then turning to fly North-west up Southampton Water, over Southampton and crashing to the East of Royal Naval Air Station Eastleigh (H.M.S. Raven) at Allington Lane, West End. The Winchester Centre Log confirms this British plane was losing height.

It would seem that the Whitley crossed the coast near Southampton as described in the 77 Squadron Form 540 where it reports a collision occurring with a balloon. Somewhere (unknown) the Whitley is reported as having 15 feet of wing severed which was found 2 miles from one of the balloon cables hit, I should be interested to find out where?

Other records suggest there was a collision with a barrage balloon cable of 930 Southampton Squadron sited at Bury Farm, near Marchwood and that the aircraft flew on, but one record changes this collision near Marchwood to the day after (16th August 1940). Does anyone remember what happened?

The Whitley definitely collided with a cable in Allington Lane, West End, near Eastleigh of 924 Squadron and crashed close by.

My grandma who lived near the Driffield base was told they had been flying up Southampton Water.

Prior to the Whitley making landfall "Red Flares" had been dropped by an aircraft about 5 miles South-east of Sandown, Isle of Wight. The 1940 Air Ministry Signal Book indicates that Red Flares would be dropped by an aircraft whilst transmitting a wireless distress message, which meant that the aircraft was in grave and imminent danger and required immediate assistance.

Instructions issued before the operation instructed crews to ensure they sent their identification signals. However 1940 records indicate that receiving stations were quite often overloaded with wireless traffic especially in inclement weather.

I expect that their wireless ID signal had not been acknowledged by the Control Stations at Tangmere or Pulham, so the Whitley dropped Red Flares and sent a wireless signal in an effort to confirm their identification.

I wondered if the RDF. (Radar) Stations at Ventnor, also Worth Matravers, Poling, or Truleigh Hill received their IFF signal?

A September 1940 G.P.O. Telecommunications letter states that R.A.F. Gosport (Fort Grange) which was also the No. 17 Group Distress Area Headquarters requested Niton Radio W/T Station to transmit a 鈥淒istress Broadcast鈥� to an aircraft in distress over the sea on the 15th August 1940.

The Balloon Barrages of 932 Portsmouth, 933 Gosport were raised to 4,500 feet at 03.22 hrs and a Balloon cable was reported damaged at Gosport by the Balloon Flights at 03.47hrs after the crash time, although it is unclear whether a balloon cable at Gosport was involved.

I would be interested to know please if the Marchwood balloon was connected with the Whitley crash?

The Whitley had been recorded originally as flying at 10,000 feet and although descending, was well above the height of the 4,000 to 4,500 feet balloon barrages in the area.

The records at Kew clearly indicate that in many cases, the ruling in S.D.158, where aircraft had to fly at 5,000 feet or immediately beneath cloud whichever was the lowest, was responsible for many of these balloon cable collisions.

The purpose of S.D.158 was for identification and recognition of the aircraft by the ground forces and for signalling by the aircraft lights and aldis lamp to the ground.

I would be most interested to hear from anyone who served or worked in the Balloon Squadrons mentioned, the Balloon Command organisation, including No. 12 Balloon Centre at Titchfield, Nr Fareham, No. 32 Group at Romsey, including the Anti Aircraft Regiments and Batteries under the 35th A.A. Brigade.

Please get in touch (leave a message for me) via the 大象传媒 website and thank you for your interest and any help. I would like to know all about the events and incidents leading up to the crash.

Mark Hood,
Galley Common.