FRIDAY 13TH APRIL 1945

On the morning of Friday 13th April 1945, [onboard Wellington LP981], I was part of such a mission, and was sitting in what would have been the Wireless Operator's seat having completed my part of the exercise. It used to get quite warm inside the fuselage and I may have dozed off as a result. Whatever happened beforehand, I woke to realise that the fuselage was filling up with water and it reminded me of some horror film. I saw daylight coming from what appeared to be a hole in the top of the fuselage, so I clambered out of this and fell into the sea outside! We had crashed into the sea within sight of Fleetwood. I learned many years later that there had been a malfunctioning of the controls and that the aircraft had turned over and landed upside-down.

Fleetwood Bay

Fleetwood Bay

(click to enlarge)

I now noticed a colleague floating in the sea, but not trying to swim, and I swam to him and tried to take him in tow. This however, proved too difficult and I had to let go. I do not know whether he was alive or dead. As I swam, I noticed that the rubber dinghy from the aircraft (a yellow colour) was inflated and was floating on the sea some distance away. I struck out in its direction, as it seemed a safe haven. Whilst travelling along using my breast stroke/side stroke, I noticed people had gathered on the beach at Fleetwood. They looked quite small but recognisable as people. At some stage in this swim my fur-lined flying boots slipped off my feet, and were lost to me forever.

Eventually, I reached the dinghy and now had to raise myself into it. It was quite a struggle to do this but I finally made it and then lay exhausted in the bottom of the dinghy. I don't know how long I lay there, but the next thing that happened was that a small fishing boat came alongside and took me aboard. I later learned that the boat was called 'White Heather', which my Mother in Law pointed out was a symbol of good luck. The boat took me into Fleetwood harbour and from there I was taken to the civilian hospital of the town. It was here that I met up with my RAF colleague, Ted Bedell, who was a trainee like me. I later learned from him that he had been rescued by a Canadian RAF man and a local fisherman, who had swum out to him. The Canadian was on a day out visiting Blackpool and Fleetwood. Ted and I were to discover that we were the sole survivors of the accident. Pilot, instructor and three other trainees perished on that fateful Friday the 13th!


As Robert escaped from the crash in a dinghy he became a member of the Goldfish Club, which still exists today.


Goldfish Badge

Goldfish Club Badge

(click to enlarge)


Goldfish Card Goldfish Card Reverse

Goldfish Club Card

(click to enlarge)

Goldfish Club Card Reverse

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Ted_Bedell

Ted Bedell
(By kind permission of Ted Bedell's family)

(click to enlarge)

From Ted's memories of the day in letters he exchanged with Robert in 1995:

  • 'There was a malfunction in the controls. I was on the drop down seat used by a second pilot. A certain amount of panic immediately we hit the water. I was knocked about a bit and sustained a broken arm, compound fracture of the femur, spinal injury and various other injuries.'

    'I remember immediately before the impact and then coming round in the water, eventually being supported by a Canadian Air Force Officer until being picked up by a prawn boat.'

(He eventually found out that the Canadian's name was Jack Haley, who was awarded the Royal Humane Society Testimonial on Vellum for his act of bravery).

Jack Haley was stationed at RAF East Moor just north of York. Numbers 415 & 432 Squadrons were stationed there at that time flying Halifax Bombers.


Chief Constable's Letter

Chief Constable's Letter

(click to enlarge)


From the RNLI Records of Service 1939-46 (Transcribed by R McNeill):

APRIL 13TH. - FLEETWOOD, LANCASHIRE.
At 10.50 in the morning a Wellington bomber crashed in the sea a mile northwest of the lifeboat station. The southerly breeze was light, the sea calm. As the coxswain and crew of the life-boat were not within easy reach, the motor-mechanic, to save time, gathered a scratch crew consisting of an able seaman of the Royal Naval Reserve, two corporals of the United States Army, and a civilian visitor, and the lifeboat was launched at 11.10. Ten minutes later she reached the aeroplane, but a fishing boat, going to sea, was there before her, and had rescued three airmen, one of whom died later. Four airmen were missing and the lifeboat searched for them, but found no one. She returned to her station at noon. In the early evening, when the tide was out, the four missing men were found in the aeroplane, dead.


Fleetwood Lifeboat Ann Letitia Russell

Fleetwood Lifeboat
(Photo taken at Fleetwood Museum)

(click to enlarge)

Ann Letitia Russell
(Photo courtesy of www.aircrewremembered.com)

(click to enlarge)


I obtained a copy of the local paper that showed photographs of the wreckage. In these the tide had gone out and people had been able to walk out to it. The aircraft tail unit including the gun turret, were some distance away from the rest of the fuselage, so you can understand why the sea had filled up the latter.

Photographs of LP981 taken at low tide 14-04-1945

LP981 Fuselage 1

LP981 Fuselage 1
(By kind permission of the Blackpool Evening Gazette)

(click to enlarge)

The above photo shows the upside down fuselage with the left wing at the front. Note the tyre of the wheel which has not completely retracted and at the front is part of the engine.

LP981 Fuselage 2

LP981 Fuselage 2
(By kind permission of the Blackpool Evening Gazette)

(click to enlarge)

The above photo also shows the upside down fuselage with the left wing.

LP981 Fuselage 3

LP981 Fuselage 3
(By kind permission of the Blackpool Evening Gazette)

(click to enlarge)

The above photo shows the tail section on its side. Note the Rear Air Gunnery position where the trainees would have been, the tail fin in the sand and the horizontal tail plane above.


Newspaper articles about the crash

13th April Gazette

13th April Evening Gazette
(By kind permission of the Blackpool Evening Gazette)

(click to enlarge)


14th April Gazette

14th April Evening Gazette
(By kind permission of the Blackpool Evening Gazette)

(click to enlarge)


16th April Gazette

16th April Evening Gazette
(By kind permission of the Blackpool Evening Gazette)

(click to enlarge)


Leicester Mercury

Leicester Mercury

(click to enlarge)


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