HALIFAX BOMBER LOST ON MERCY MISSION

Rotorua Morning Post, Issue 5329, 15 February 1947, Page 5

HALIFAX BOMBER LOST ON MERCY MISSION

LONDOX, I'Vlii'nary II. When tlie Royal Air Force Halifax homber F for Fox was parachuting food to a snowhound village in StalTordshire it crashed and all eight aboard were killed. It was oue of 11 bombers being used to take food to towns and villages which have been cut off for u'p to six days by Arctic conditions in Britain. The pilot reached his objective — the village of Butterton — and radioed that conditions had grown worse since previous mercy flights to the area. The bomber was seen to explode in mid-air. It crashed on Gindon Aloor, two miles from the village. Residents rushed to the crash and found food eontainers attached to green paraehutes strewn round the plane. One man was alive in the rear cockpit, but he died later. A Royal Air Force mountain rescue party has left for the scene. Two of 'those on board the Halifax carrying* the party were Press photographers. The Air Ministry said no further attempts to drop food would be made to-day. Earlier .it was intended to drop a paratrooper from a position obtained by radar. He was to set up a portable radar beacon and "home" the Halifaxes on to the position s0 that they could drop supplies from a safe height in the clouds. The weather for days had rendered visibility bad, but the men were detevmined to get through with supplies, and set out at >dawn.