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Posted by Geoff Elliott
on 7/11/2004, 21:50:20, in reply to "Re: vengeance 1948/9"
62.252.64.32
Dear Phil-Iwas on duty on the flight deck when your brother made that fatal landing during the cold weather trials of 1949 in the arctic. The aircraft by the way,was a Sea Otter biplane which was a kind of float plane with retractable wheels.
The weather was calm when he landed but the landing was close to the Starboard side of the ship and although the planes arrester hook was secure on an arrester wire the plane went over the side just aft of the ships crane. It hung there for some minutes and that's when the oobserver got out. Unfortunately the hook then gave way and the plane went in nose first.By this time the ship had hove to and the crane driver desparately tried hook on to the plane without success. I can-t tell you how miserable and helpless everyone felt on that flightdeck on that day. But if it's any consolation we were all told that if we fell overboard 2 minutes in freezing water was all one could stand.Of course all this happened a long time ago. I was 19 then and I'm 75 now.Having the same surname worried my mum somewhat when she read the report in the paper although your brother was a Lieutenant and I was a mere Naval Airman but you know what mums are.I hope this assists you in your research.
Yours truly Geoff Elliott ex HMS Vengeance
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