Wellington Mk.IC HX433 of No.1443 (Ferry) Flight, flew into Mynydd Moel near Dolgellau on the 28th May 1942

Vickers Wellington Mk.X at the Royal Air Force Museum

 

William John Peter Grant RCAF Flight Sergeant Pilot Killed
Henry Lawrence Davis RCAF Flight Sergeant 2nd Pilot Killed
George Douglas Graham Sergeant Observer Killed
John Ingram McDowell Sergeant Wireless Operator / Air Gunner Killed
Herbert Noel Williams RAAF Sergeant Wireless Operator / Air Gunner Killed
Clifford James Thomas Sergeant Air Gunner Killed

 

The crew of Wellington HX433 were carrying out a fuel consumption test flight from RAF Harwell near Didcot prior to the aircraft being ferried to the Middle East. The weather during the 28th May 1942 was reasonably good, but there was between 4 & 7/8th cloud over the high ground of Wales. At some point in the flight the aircraft had entered cloud and flown off course, the Court of Inquiry stated by at least 20 degrees. While still in cloud the Wellington flew into the shear rock wall on the North East face of 2830 ft high Mynydd Moel above Dolgellau a short way below the summit and completely disintegrated. Wreckage cascaded back down the mountain, landing on the steep and unstable scree slope below the cliff where some of it burned.

Mynydd Moel near Dolgellau, crash site of Vickers Wellington HX433
Above is the mountain seen from the ridge to the east of the summit, the yellow dot marking roughly where the aircraft impacted the rock face.

At 21:15 a message was received by the Senior Medical Officer at RAF Towyn informing him that an aircraft had crashed in the mountains to the south of Dolegllau, he set out in the ambulance with a single orderly to the nearest road access. When they arrived they were told by the local Police that they had already discovered 4 bodies but that recovery during the night would be impossible due to the location of the wreckage. During the night enquiries were made to determine which aircraft had failed to return and how many crew there were.

The following morning a larger team made up of the Medical Officer, 2 Orderlies a Sergeant and 8 Airmen together with the local Police and farmers made their way up to the wreckage and with “great difficulty” recovered the 6 bodies from the scree slope, which the RAF MO described as a “very steep slope, covered with large boulders”.

On the 2nd June four of the crew were buried in Towyn cemetery, the other two being returned to their next of kin for burial.

Wreckage at the crash site of Vickers Wellington Mk.IC HX433 on Mynydd Moel, Dolgellau
The lowest items in the wreckage are small sections of geodetic framework and panels such as this piece of engine firewall.
Wreckage at the crash site of Vickers Wellington Mk.IC HX433 on Mynydd Moel, Dolgellau
Other items scattered in the lower areas of scree include this anti-scuff plate from the bomb bay doors.
Wreckage at the crash site of Vickers Wellington Mk.IC HX433 on Mynydd Moel, Dolgellau
Higher up are a few larger collections of wreckage, this is on of two which lie on the scree slope just below the cliffs.
Crash site of Vickers Wellington HX433 on Mynydd Moel, Dolgellau
This photograph shows the scree slopes where most of the wreckage lies and the base of the cliffs.
Crash site of Vickers Wellington HX433 on Mynydd Moel, Dolgellau
This photograph was taken from the highest extent of the wreckage trail, only very small pieces, some showing signs of fire were found at this height.
Crash site of Vickers Wellington HX433 on Mynydd Moel, Dolgellau
This was taken from the same location as the previous photograph, a couple of hundred feet below the yellow dot on the first photo, with the town of Dolgellau in the background. On the otherwise uniform cliffs above this point is a single area of discolouration which possibly marks the point of impact.