Armstrong Whitworth Whitley Mk.V Z9189 of No.42 OTU crashed shortly after take off from Darley Moor airfield near Ashbourne on the 27th July 1943

 

John Alfred Watkins Flight Sergeant Pilot Killed
Ian Bert Mann Flying Officer Pilot (Pupil) Killed
Ian Wallace-Cox Warrant Officer Navigator / Bomb Aimer Killed
Albert John Shorter Sergeant Wireless Operator Killed
Kenneth Alfred Gooding Sergeant Air Gunner Killed

 

At just after 00:20 on the 27th July 1943 Z9189 took off from Darley Moor airfield, a satellite of the larger airfield at Ashbourne. The aircraft was barely airborne when a flame trap on the port engine failed causing of premature ignition within the inlet manifold on the engine causing it to fail and catch fire.  The aircraft quickly lost what little height it had and crashed in a field less than half a mile from the end of the runway.

Crash site of Armstrong Whitworth Whitley Mk.V Z9189 in a field near Darley Moor Airfield, Ashbourne
The aircraft crashed in the field shown above, a shallow depression can be seen in the centre of the image, this is where the aircraft crashed.
Grave of Pilot Officer Ian Bert Mann and Major S. H. Mann at Wimbledon Gap Road Cemetery
Pilot Officer Mann and his father Major S. H. Mann of the Pioneer Corps in Wimbledon (Gap Road) Cemetery.
Grave of Warrant Officer Ian Wallace-Cox at Ashbourne Cemetery
Warrant Officer Wallace-Cox was buried at Ashbourne Cemetery