R6179

Airspeed Oxford R6179, assigned to 7th Air Depot Group, 9AF USAAF. Returning to Langford Lodge in Northern Ireland after delivering radio equipment to Speke. A/C was flown by 2nd Lt Joseph E Lowe and 1st Lt John L Pearce of the Signals Corps as a passenger. The weather at the time of take of was not good with icing at 1,500 feet and visibility about a mile. A/C headed out across the River Mersey to avoid the Liverpool defences. The pilot had to fly down to 800 feet as the cloud base lowered. As the aircraft was not fitted with radio he had to maintain visual contact with the ground, however he was forced to climb up through clouds to clear barrage balloons that were in the area and then the aircraft suddenly crashed at 1345 hrs into the 1,450 feet high Fron Hen Mountain in Denbighshire, North Wales. The aircraft was completely wrecked but the crew survived with major injuries and were taken to the hospital at RAF Sealand. 3-Dec-42.

Connections

See how this entry relates to other items in the archive by exploring the connections below.

Units served with

People

  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 7th Air Depot Group
  • Highest Rank: Second Lieutenant
  • Role/Job: Pilot
  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 7th Air Depot Group
  • Highest Rank: First Lieutenant

Places

Events

Event Location Date Description

Crashed

Denbighshire, UK 3 December 1942 Crashed into Fron Hen Mountain in Denbighshire, North Wales. Cat 5 damage. Pilot 2nd Lt Joseph E Lowe and 1st Lt John L Pearce badly injured. RTD. 3-Dec-42.

Other

Struck Off Charge SOC

Langford Lodge, United Kingdom 5 December 1942 Struck Off Charge.

Manufactured

Christchurch, Dorset, UK Built at Airspeed.

Delivered

England, UK Delivered to RAF MU.

Assigned

Langford Lodge, United Kingdom Assigned to 7th Air Depot Group, 9AF USAAF.

Revisions

Date
ContributorAl_Skiff
Changes