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11 fatalities

Vickers 417 Wellington III accident at Somersham, United Kingdom, 5 Oct 1942 (X3811)

Somersham, United KingdomFlight

On October 5, 1942, a Vickers 417 Wellington III (registration X3811) operated by Royal Air Force - RAF was involved in an aviation accident near Somersham, United Kingdom in flight. 11 people were killed. Investigators recorded the probable cause as: An uncontrollable fire, thought to be a flare, broke out on board the airplane, forcing the crew to bail out. This summary draws on records from the Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archives (B3A); 8 related events involving the same aircraft type or operator are linked below.

Sourcesthe Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archives (B3A)Source recordUpdated 2026-08-05Data APIEditorial standards

Probable cause

An uncontrollable fire, thought to be a flare, broke out on board the airplane, forcing the crew to bail out.

— NTSB Determination

Accident narrative

The airplane departed RAF Warboys at 1910LT on an operation to Aachen. After takeoff, it iced up and was abandoned after a fire broke up. All five crew members parachuted and were injured while the airplane dove into the ground and crashed onto the village of Somersham. Seven houses were destroyed and 11 people were killed. Crew: F/Sgt Thomas Edward Case, pilot, F/Sgt H. W. Welch, Sgt H. A. McLennan, Sgt E. Cuthbert, F/Sgt P. Y. C. Tremblay. Those killed on ground were: Ena Stroud, Violet Moule, Vera Cattenach, Pauline Cattenach, Eliza Nightingale, Juliana Davis, Annie Holdich, Elsie May Taylor, Elizabeth Richardson, Alice Lamb, Frank Lamb.

Probable cause (official findings): An uncontrollable fire, thought to be a flare, broke out on board the airplane, forcing the crew to bail out.

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