WWII Aircraft crashes

Regarding Billy's request for information of an aircraft crash near Monks Lane.

There were several accidents in the area during WW2, some fatal, and apart from Lancaster ED500 'S-Sugar' of 467 Sqn RAAF which I wrote about a few years ago, I am only aware of one other incident to the North of the village, near Hankelow. However, due to the nature of this accident, and the location, I very much doubt it relates to what Billy's uncle witnessed.

On 20th March 1944, F/Lt. Aleksander Petruszka (Pilot), and Sgt. Jan Burzynski (Navigator) of the Polish Air Force, were killed when their Mosquito dived into the ground at Hankelow. The aircraft was on a night navigational cross-country exercise from number 60 Operational Training Unit, High Ercall.

This unit at High Ercall trained night intruder crews, and F/Lt. Petruszka, an experienced pilot, would have been no stranger to these parts, having previously flown Hurricanes with 306 Squadron at Tern Hill.

According to the Court of Enquiry, control of the aircraft was thought to have been lost whilst flying in cloud, and from all accounts, the wreckage was buried deep in the ground. On some documents the location is given as near 'Hankelow Court'. I believe that F/Lt. Petruszka and Sgt. Burzynski are buried at Shawbury.

The only RAF casualty that I am aware of buried in Audlem, is Cpl. G. A. Hall, Drogue Operator, who, along with his pilot F/Sgt. J.W. Sigsworth, were killed when their Martinet aircraft flew into a hillside in poor visibility 4 miles North of Haile, Cumbria, on 21st April 1944.

I wonder if the parachute silk in the tree was the result of the abandonment by some of the crew of the 467 Sqn Lancaster?

I hope that the incident that Billy's uncle witnessed will someday come to light, but with the numerous forced landings etc that occurred during this period, (some not even recorded on unit records), the search may be a long one! I don't suppose Billy, that it can be narrowed down to a specific time frame?

As an update regarding my article of the loss of Lancaster ED500 at Park Farm, I had, unsuccessfully, for many years, tried to find out the individual letter worn by this aircraft, since the Squadron's Operations Records Book only recorded the aircraft's serial, not the letter. However, I am indebted to Mr Vincent Holyoak, author of 'On the Wings of the Morning- RAF Bottesford 1941-1945' who had some surviving documents from the airfield's flying control section at Bottesford, and who compared two surviving documents, and found that the aircraft was 'S-Sugar'.

The reason I mention this, is that following the crash near Audlem, the Squadron's replacement 'S-Sugar' was Lancaster R5868, now in the RAF Museum at Hendon!

Ian Evans

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