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Archive Report: Allied Forces

Compiled from official National Archive and Service sources, contemporary press reports, personal logbooks, diaries and correspondence, reference books, other sources, and interviews.
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05.12.1941 No. 20 O.T.U. Wellington I L4348 Fl/Sgt. Goss

Operation: Training - navigation exercise

Date: 5th December 1941 (Friday)

Unit: No: 20 Operational Training Unit (6 Group)

Type: Wellington I

Serial: L4348

Base: RAF Lossiemouth, Scotland

Location: Strathy Point, Sutherland, Scotland.

Pilot: Fl/Sgt. Harold Sidney Douglas Goss 742058 RAFVR Age 22. Killed

Obs: Sgt. Anthony Richard McCoy 1166019 RAFVR Age 22. Killed

Obs: Sgt. Alfred Flint 1163046 RAFVR Age 28. Killed

W/Op/Air/Gnr: Sgt. Malcolm Edward Kent AUS/404470 RAAF Age 23. Killed

W/Op/Air/Gnr: Sgt. Allan James Wilson NZ/404111 RNZAF Age 20. Killed

REASON FOR LOSS:

Wellington on a navigation training exercise when on the homeward bound trip the crew called at 15:14 hrs with no reported problem.

The aircraft was then seen by another 20 OTU Wellington in flames on the ground at 16:42 hrs. The time of the accident is recorded as 16:00 hrs with weather conditions described as clear, with broken cloud. No reason for the accident was provided to the relatives.

Some sources state that icing was the cause of loss of control and accident, although no evidence has been found of this.

Sgt. Anthony Richard McCoy rear row, 2nd from right. Thought to have been taken during training. (Courtesy Louise Rennie)


Crash site today - if you visit, "take nothing" and remember that people died here, leave a thought to the crew (courtesy Gary Nelson)Burial details:

Fl/Sgt. Harold Sidney Douglas Goss. Watford Cemetery. Sec. K. Uncons. Row 2. Grave 801. Son of Sidney James Goss and Gladys Lilian Goss, of Watford, England. Husband of Denise Doreen Goss.

Sgt. Anthony Richard McCoy. Wick Cemetery. Sec O. Grave 417. Born in Birkenhead, Liverpool, England, the son of Alfred and Edith McCoy, thought to be from Dublin, Eire. His father Alfred was a merchant seaman during the war serving mainly on the Queen Elizabeth but also the Queen Mary.

Sgt. Alfred Flint. Braunstone Church. Leicestershire. Son of Harry and Lilla Evelyn Flint, of Bushby, England.

Sgt. Malcolm Edward Kent. Wick Cemetery. Sec O. Grave 436. Son of Edward George and Ann Kent, of Gregg street, Roma, Queensland, Australia. Miss Z.E. Hammett 22 Staple Street West End Townsville Queensland.

Sgt. Allan James Wilson. Wick Cemetery. Sec O. Grave 439. Son of Herbert and Jean Geraldine Wilson, of Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand. A total of 46 flying hours logged.

Researched for relatives/friends of the crew. With thanks to the following: Gary Nelson ‘Crash Sites Visited, Gordon Lyons - 'Air Crash sites, Scotland’. Also thanks to Paul Curtis and Louis Rennie for information and photographs of his mothers brother, Sgt. Anthony Richard McCoy. Other sources as quoted below.

KTY 02.03.2016 New photos added courtesy Gary Nelson

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Acknowledgements
Sources used by us in compiling Archive Reports include: Bill Chorley - 'Bomber Command Losses Vols. 1-9, plus ongoing revisions', Dr. Theo E.W. Boiten and Mr. Roderick J. Mackenzie - 'Nightfighter War Diaries Vols. 1 and 2', Martin Middlebrook and Chris Everitt - 'Bomber Command War Diaries', Commonwealth War Graves Commission, Tom Kracker - Kracker Luftwaffe Archives, Michel Beckers, Major Fred Paradie (RCAF) and MWO François Dutil (RCAF) - Paradie Archive (on this site), Jean Schadskaje, Major Jack O'Connor USAF (Retd.), Robert Gretzyngier, Wojtek Matusiak, Waldemar Wójcik and Józef Zieliński - 'Ku Czci Połeglyçh Lotnikow 1939-1945', Archiwum - Polish Air Force Archive (on this site), Anna Krzystek, Tadeusz Krzystek - 'Polskie Siły Powietrzne w Wielkiej Brytanii', Franek Grabowski, Norman L.R. Franks 'Fighter Command Losses', Stan D. Bishop, John A. Hey MBE, Gerrie Franken and Maco Cillessen - Losses of the US 8th and 9th Air Forces, Vols 1-6, Dr. Theo E.W. Boiton - Nachtjagd Combat Archives, Vols 1-13. Aircrew Remembered Databases and our own archives. We are grateful for the support and encouragement of CWGC, UK Imperial War Museum, Australian War Memorial, Australian National Archives, New Zealand National Archives, UK National Archives and Fold3 and countless dedicated friends and researchers across the world.
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