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Report on Crash of Liberator a/c V/120 on night of 3-5-42 by Aerodrome Control Pilot - 741475 S/Sgt G.D. Gamble (page 1 of 2)
The weather was good - visibility 10-15 miles - but there was a slight ground haze - Wind westerly, 10mph.
At 23.45 hours Liberator V/120 took off on local night flying practice & made two normal landings although the circuits were flown at low altitude.
At approximately 0015 a/c V/120 took off again for a further circuit & signaled in the normal manner - I gave him a green & put on the floodlight glide path indicator and landing T. The a/c put his lights on steady to acknowledge my signal.
I kept the floodlights on for 15 minutes or so but could not see the a/c when he was on the leeward side of the aerodrome.
At 00.35 hours Liberator a/c D/120 took off but no sings of V/120 was seen.
At 00.50 hours I noticed a glow in the sky to the east which we first thought to be the rising moon. At 00.55 hours however pyrotechnics started exploding from the glow so I immediately contacted
Many thanks to Peter Claydon for sending us these pictures, which belonged to his father, C.W.J. Claydon, who spent much of the war serving as a medical officer with No.120 Squadron at Ballykelly, Northern Ireland.