King Alfred's Tower, Somerset – Crash

Thanks guys, at least the next time I get to visit it will make it much more interesting knowing the details of this incident.

To complete the picture

Noorduyn UC-64A Norseman

FRom Joe Baughers serial site

5344 (c/n 335) to salvage Jul 13, 1944

and also

http://pweb1.mts.net/~donmag/Aircraft.htm

I wish I had found this site earlier – But it would have only give a ‘clue’

Norseman UC-64A 43-5344

Thanks to DaveW on RAFCommands

http://www.rafcommands.com/forum/showthread.php?p=2830&posted=1

Do you have the Norsemans serial number please ?

I have now found the reference to the Norseman crash. It is in the casualty listing in Jon Maguire’s book “Gooney Birds and Ferry Tales”. This list is often inaccurate, quoting hearsay rather than cold facts in some of the entries. Pilot was 1/t Winfield H Malone 325th Ferrying Sqn, F/Engineer M/Sgt Loyd F Cheek 320th Transport Sqn, Cpl Henry A Mazzie (possibly Mazzei) of 320th. All killed 10 July 1944 in a UC-64 “on a flight to deliver a tire and wheel for a Lockheed Hudson which was damaged earlier at Preston, Scotland. On the flight, their Norseman crashed into King Alfred’s Tower near Zeals, Wilts, Yeovil, England.”

Malone and Cheek are buried at Cambridge and the ABMC database confirms the 10 July date. Maybe Preston was Prestwick but what were they doing in Wilts so far away and where would they get the Hudson spares from? The plot thickens!

Ian interesting

I think there is a typo for HK500 and HK510 in ‘Wiltshire Airfields of WWII’
as HK510 was with 256 Sqn in Italy

But all we need now is the Norseman serial, but I am getting a picture how the aircraft has been identified variously as ‘Mosquito’, ‘Canadian’ , ‘de Havilland’, ‘twin engine British’ etc as the 2 separate incidents on the same day are getting confused

Paul

Does ‘Somerset at War’ include any names we could check to confirm date?

No, it just gives it as a Norseman – doesn’t mention the Mossie as Zeals is technically in Wilts…

However , in ‘Wiltshire Airfields of WWII’ it mentions two accidents that day;

Mosquito NF XIII HK510 which crashed at Pen Mill, Penselwood to the west of Zeals [mentions engine out missed approach/bad weather as a cause] which is some distance from the Tower…

The Norseman wreckage [details as before] ended up in Brewham Farm [Somerset] which is the first clear area just west of the tower

A Mosquito did crash at night but that was in the Zeals circuit area.
It’s given as a Norseman in ‘Somerset at War’ with a plausible account and the body count is higher than a Mossie crew…
Date could be wrong of course.

Does ‘Somerset at War’ include any names we could check to confirm date?

A Mosquito did crash at night but that was in the Zeals circuit area.
It’s given as a Norseman in ‘Somerset at War’ with a plausible account and the body count is higher than a Mossie crew…
Date could be wrong of course.

http://www.follytowers.com/alfredtxt.html

“1944 Canadian Crew ” – 410 Sqn was Canadian

BTW at the time 410 Sqn was based at Zeals

This is all very very murky – and we need a serial to confirm

There are no US aircraft accidents that match this location, aircraft types and date, so it is looking like it is probably a Canadian Crew (US type accent) and a Mosquito as the aircraft, IMO of course.

http://www.follytowers.com/alfredtxt.html

“1944 Canadian Crew ” – 410 Sqn was Canadian

BTW at the time 410 Sqn was based at Zeals

This is all very very murky – and we need a serial to confirm

King Alfreds Tower Crash

Many years ago one of the local papers ran an article on the subject, they identified the aircraft as an Airspeed Oxford on a navigational training flight. There was also a rumour that it was struck by an errant Spitfire, however this was never confirmed.

I think a lot of incidents are being confused here

According to the Times in a letter in the 1950’s a Mosquito hit the tower

Well on 10.7.44 Mosquito NFXIII HK500 of 410 Sqn, had an accident in which a Engine cut overshot landing at Zeals

Note the date!!!!!

Now this is the same date quoted for the incident at the Tower – I can’t find a Norseman incident on this date, but Mosquito is a ‘de Havilland’

I wonder if these 2 incidents have been confused – and the Norseman accident was another date?

Is that scar on the upper right where it impacted, perhaps?

Thought of that but in the excellent links provided by Sam it seems it hit the conical roof which was only replaced recently.

BTW the photo was taken last autumn.

This site refers to a Norseman

http://www.alfredstower.info/AddInfo.aspx

Same site also has some rather gruesome information on an HE 111 that crashed nearby

http://www.alfredstower.info/TowerLodge.aspx

Is that scar on the upper right where it impacted, perhaps?

Definitely a Norseman. From some source it was on it’s way to Lulsgate but because of the obviously bad weather asked to land at Zeals but ‘permission’ was refused…

Quite a solid structure to run into…

Sorry I meant Stourhead, full of cold at the moment and not thinking straight.

No, definitely a Norseman. I’m pretty sure they were never built by DHC under sub-contract but maybe someone disagrees?

Could it be a DH.Dominie (Dragon Rapide) as they were used by the RAF and USAAF ?