WEARNE, William Raymond
| Service Number: | 409191 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 19 July 1941 |
| Last Rank: | Sergeant |
| Last Unit: | Not yet discovered |
| Born: | Brighton, Victoria, Australia, 8 October 1922 |
| Home Town: | Toorak, Stonnington, Victoria |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Not yet discovered |
| Died: | Accidental, Wellington crash during engine failure training, United Kingdom, 11 January 1943, aged 20 years |
| Cemetery: |
St Paul's Churchyard, Scropton, Derbyshire, England Extn Grave 107 |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, International Bomber Command Centre Memorial |
World War 2 Service
| 3 Sep 1939: | Involvement Sergeant, 409191 | |
|---|---|---|
| 19 Jul 1941: | Enlisted Royal Australian Air Force, 409191 | |
| 19 Jul 1941: | Enlisted Royal Australian Air Force, Sergeant, 409191 |
Help us honour William Raymond Wearne's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Grant White
https://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/wiki.php?id=192743
ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 192743
Last updated: 5 July 2017
This information is added by users of ASN. Neither ASN nor the Flight Safety Foundation are responsible for the completeness or correctness of this information. If you feel this information is incomplete or incorrect, you can submit corrected information.
Date: 11-JAN-1943
Time: 1550
Type: Vickers Wellington Mk III
Owner/operator: 27 OTU RAF
Registration: BK405
C/n / msn:
Fatalities: Fatalities: 5 / Occupants: 5
Airplane damage: Written off (damaged beyond repair)
Location: Boylestone, Derbyshire, England - United Kingdom
Phase: En route
Nature: Training
Departure airport:
Destination airport:
Narrative:
On 11 January 1943 the Vickers Wellington III BK405 of 27 OTU RAF took off at 1535 hrs from Church Broughton for a circuits and landings exercise, combined with single-engined flying. At around 1550 hrs, the pupil pilot went through the drill in readiness to shut down the port engine but he then inadvertently feathered to starboard propeller causing a complete loss of power. The aircraft immediately stalled and entered a spin from which it did not recover. It crashed near to Boylestone, Derbyshire and was destroyed by fire following the crash. All five crew were killed.
Crew (all killed):
Flg Off Ralph Holland Tye RNZAF (pilot, instructor)
Sgt William Raymond Wearne RAAF (pupil pilot)
Sgt Ian Ross McDonald RAAF (bomb aimer?)
Sgt John Kerr (wireless operator/air gunner)
Sgt John Stoppard Eccles RAAF (air gunner?)
Flg Off Tye, an experienced Wellington captain and veteran of an operational tour with 75 Sqn, Sgt Wearne and Sgt McDonald are buried in the extension to Scropton (St. Paul) Churchyard, Foston and Scropton. Sgt Eccles while serving with the RAAF was not actually Australian, he was from Timperley near Altrincham in Cheshire, and is buried in his parents home town of Salford, Lancashire. Sgt Kerr was taken to St. Albans Cemetery.
This aircraft was relatively new, having been held in storage at 23 MU Aldergrove from 19 October 1942 until its acceptance by 27 OTU in mid-December. Its total flying came to 25.40 hours.
Sources:
http://www.peakdistrictaircrashes.co.uk/awaybk405.htm
"Royal Air Force Bomber Command Losses, volume 7: Operational Training Units 1940-1947", by W R Chorley, ISBN 1-85780-132-6
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boylestone
http://www.maplandia.com/united-kingdom/england/east-midlands/derbyshire-county/boyleston/
Revision history:
Date/time Contributor Updates
11-Jan-2017 11:06 Laurent Rizzotti Added
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