On 30th October 1942, after a 10 hour mission a Royal Air Force Liberator from RAF Beaulieu crashed at Fullamoor Farm on the southwestern corner of Plaster Down and six of the seven man crew were killed.
The full details of the operation and the crash has been well documented in two books, namely: Robert Jones (2015) – Dartmoor Air Crashes, Aircraft lost in World War Two (pages 60-67) and Graham Lewis (2016) – Wings over Dartmoor, Military Aircraft Crashes on Dartmoor 1939-1966 (pages 96-97) and only a brief summary is contained in this post. The author would like to thank Ian Doidge for allowing access to visit the crash site, which is on PRIVATE LAND, and sharing his insights and also to Dartmoor Chris for arranging the visit.
Summary of 30th October 1942; The aircraft was part of a squadron of long range patrol bombers which supported ship convoys from submarine threats. The aircraft had taken off at 0830 and after 10 hour mission it sent out a distress signal reporting it only had 30 minutes of fuel left. The Liberator was off course and struck a barrage balloon over Plymouth, which is assumed to have been at RAF Mountbatten with the pilot mistaking it for a land based aerodrome. Following this incident the Liberator was diverted to RAF Harrowbeer, which was unusual since that airfield was not suitable for that type of aircraft, which suggests it was an extreme emergency. The situation was compounded as there was low cloud and RAF Harrowbeer had no runway lights. The inevitable happened when the Liberator came down just a few miles north at around 1930 – it is assumed that it had run out of fuel.
A very sad story and whatever the root cause of the air crash on that day, the stark reality is that 6 young lives were lost, serving their country. We will remember them – RIP
Bibliography
- Graham Lewis (2016) – Wings over Dartmoor, Military Aircraft Crashes on Dartmoor 1939-1966 (pages 96-97)
- Robert Jones (2015) – Dartmoor Air Crashes, Aircraft lost in World War Two (pages 60-67)
- Tavistock Museum display (2017)
- Ian Doidge – Pers. Conv.
- Dartmoor Chris – Pers. Conv.
- 224 Sqn | RAF Heraldry Trust
THIS GATE HAS FILLED THE GAP MADE
BY LIBERATOR FK242 ON CRASHING
ON 31st OCTOBER 1942, HAVING BEEN
ON ANTI-SUBMARINE DUTIES OVER THE
BAY OF BISCAY.
THIS PLAQUE COMMEMORATE THE
GALLANT AIRMEN WHO LOST THEIR
LIVES IN THE CRASH, THERE WAS
ONE SURVIVOR 31st OCTOBER 1983
RETURNING FROM THE BAY OF BISCAY
LIBERATOR FK242 OF 224 SQUADRON RAF
CRASHED NEAR HERE ON 3Oth OCTOBER 1942
WITH THE LOSS OF SIX OF THE CREW
FLYING OFFICER GAVIN SELLAR RAFVR 21
FLYING OFFICER VICTOR CROWTHER RNZAF 24
PILOT OFFICER WILLIAM CRUICKSHANKS RAFVR
PILOT OFFICER WILLIAM MARTIN RAFVR 26
SERGEANT HARRY DAWE RAFVR 27
SERGEANT WILLIAM FRASE RAFVR 24
SERGEANT DENNIS PASS RAFVR 20 was injured
WE WILL REMEMEBER THEM
IN MEMORY OF THE CREW
OF LIBERATOR FK242
224 SQUADRON RAF
COASTAL COMMAND
30th OCTOBER 1942
WE WILL REMEMBER THEM
Marc November 11, 2025
Thank you for publishing this. It’s good to see the men from my local airfield are not forgotten about. I publish my own research too on https://rafbeaulieu.co.uk