Lockheed Hudson Mk.V AE640 of the Overseas Aircraft Despatch Flight crashed near Feorlan cottage on the Mull of Kintyre on the 25th July 1941 whilst on delivery

 

Keith Fergus Arnold DFC	Flight Lieutenant	Pilot	Killed
Percey Keast	Sergeant	Observer	Killed
Wilfred Bratherton	–	Wireless Operator	Killed

 

The aircraft was a newly built aircraft which was being ferried from the Lockheed factory to the UK. It had been flown across the USA and Canada before being flown by the crew of three across the Atlantic Ocean. They had departed from Canada for the UK and made landfall over Ireland and landed at Limavady near Londonderry. On the 25th July 1941 they intended to complete their journey to Prestwick, they were given a weather forecast for their route by the Meteorological Officer at Limavady who advised them that there was rain, drizzle and low cloud across western Scotland. Despite the poor weather they took off for Prestwick, the very limited information available does not state whether they had reached Prestwick and were carrying out the normal approach procedure for there (which involved flying over the radio beacon at the airfield and then turning back out to sea before turning back for land and descending) or had decided to turn back for Northern Ireland. It was while flying in a westerly to north westerly direction at about 200 feet above sea level the aircraft flew into rising ground below Feorlan cottage on the South Eastern side of the Mull of Kintyre where it was destroyed by fire and the three crew were killed.

 

Keith Arnold was buried at St Eval churchyard in Cornwall while the remaining two of the aircraft’s crew were buried at Kilkerran Cemetery in Campbeltown.