ACCIDENT TO CANBERRA B2 WH915, WIGGINTON, HERTS 8TH MARCH 1957.
Many thanks to Air Britain and the late Jim Halley.
Above as usual not the subject aircraft but a Canberra B2 of 44 Squadron Honington at Bovingdon during May 1957.
Although WH 915 did not come to Bovingdon it crashed sufficiently near to the airfield, some five miles away, to be of interest.
The distance is Statute Miles from Wainfleet to Wigginton. RAF Upwell highlighted
The report above mentions the Canberra being seen at RAF Halton flying at 40ft above high ground (i.e.behind Halton) in very bad weather.
Small section of the Chiltern Escarpment. View to east from the noreast edge of the flying field at RAF Halton towards the high ground of Tring Park (left 230M amsl ) with Hastoe Hill (centre 236M amsl). WH 915 crashed on fields 200M amsl. at Wigginton, beyond and below my high light some four miles away from Halton.
The Canberra crashed at about 1100 GMT.
London Airport weather at 1100 GMT.
Source weatherspark.com
The Air Ministry Weather Forecast for 8th March 1957 gives the general situation as '
Continuing mild and cloudy with occasional rain and drizzle'.
The cloud base was low enough to produce a rain mist. Quite what the Canberra on its training detail was doing at low height over the Chilterns by Halton is not clear. Whether the crew ever made contact with Bovingdon is not known to me. One might assume that they flew away from Halton directly over Hastoe only to crash beyond, but from the witness statements in the newspapers it appears not.
Bucks Examiner 15th March '57.
Liverpool Echo 8th March '57.
Peterborough Standard 15th March '57.
Northern Daily Mail 9th March '57.
View to south-east from overhead Wigginton. Chesham Road to left running straight down past Champneys. Possible trajectory of WH915 arrowed.
With an isolated report of the Canberra said to have been seen near RAF Halton one could be tempted to think that the aircraft would have come down directly over Kiln Farm (Green dot). However Mr Burch and his son who were in the Milking Parlour at Kiln Farm did not mention hearing the aircraft over them. The first thing they heard was the impact and then seeing flames in the fields beyond.
Mrs Collins who lived somewhere along Hemp Lane (Blue dots) thought the aircraft was going to take her roof off and heard the impact seconds later. Mr Rowe who lived at Lower Wigginton or Wigginton Bottom (just off Chesham Road between the upper Yellow dots) was labouring his fields with a couple of young farm workers when the Canberra crashed in an adjacent field. On another trajectory it is always possible that the aircraft brushed the tops of Lesley's Wood (Orange dot) and crashed as a result.
View towards Kiln Farm from Chesham Road, Wigginton.
Cambridge Community Archive Network.
IWM
In the Church of St Barts, Wigginton.