Whitley Mk.V BD232 of No.24 Operational Training Unit (OTU) crashed on Foel-fras in the Carneddau close to Llyn Dulyn reservoir 25th September 1942
Charles Alexander Stuart | Sergeant | Pilot | Killed |
Victor Ralph Smith | Sergeant | Navigator | Killed |
William Robert Hughes | Sergeant | Bomb Aimer | Killed |
Joseph Patrick Hookey | Sergeant | Wireless Operator | Killed |
John Hassall | Sergeant | Air Gunner | Killed |
The crew of BD232 were on a night cross country flight from Honeybourne near Evesham in Worcestershire with its outward leg being over Wales and out over the Irish Sea from Great Ormes Head. The ground station at Honeybourne received a message stating that the aircraft has taken off at 19:18 and received two QDYs (similar to QDMs but indicate that the magnetic course to the station has barrage balloons on that course within 60 miles of the station) at 19:24 and 19:34 after which no further radio messages were received from the aircraft. When the aircraft was overdue from is flight enquiries were made with No.92 Group and the Air Ministry who began a search operation to locate the missing Whitley. Aircraft were flown along the route taken, but until the 27th September most of the high ground of North Wales was covered by low cloud which prevented searching those areas from the air. On the 27th another aircraft from No.24 OTU made a search of the high ground close to the route flown as it was clear of clou and the crew of that aircraft spotted wreckage of what they believed to be a Whitley to the North East of Bethesda. This message was passed to No.9 (O)AFU at Llandwrog who sent out a search party which located the crash site on the 28th and confirmed that it was the missing aircraft and all of the crew had been killed in the crash.
On the 30th September No.24 OTU, with the agreement of No.9 and No.92 Groups to change their coastal departure point from Great Ormes Head to Rhyl. The reason given in their records was to allow for aircraft being slightly off track when near the coast and not putting them too close to the near by high ground, which rises to over 3,000ft above sea level.
Until 2005 a quantity of larger parts, including engine and undercarriage parts as well as structural items from the airframe remained at the site. These were recovered with the assistance of an RAF Chinook helicopter to aid in (as of 2016) a still ongoing project to recreate at least a significant portion of a Whitley.