Thunder & Lightnings

Test Flying Memorial

"...and everywhere the
blue sky belongs to them
and is their appointed rest
and their native country"
- Samuel Taylor Coleridge



Date22/05/1944
CasualtiesFlt Sgt E.L. Bunce, P; Mr J. Hall, RAE Farnborough Instrument & Armament Development Flight FTO
AircraftHandley Page Halifax Mk II BB319
Took off fromBoscombe Down, Wiltshire
Purpose of flightAutopilot flight trials
Incident locationNewton Tony, Wiltshire
Incident detailsStarboard outer engine failed on take off and, shortly afterwards, starboard wing dropped and hit ground causing aircraft to cartwheel. First pilot and four flight test observers survived


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