Frederick Allen's Story.
Frederick Allen Dixon was born on 6th June 1917 in Toronto to parents Alfred and Sarah. His records suggest that he didn’t actually complete his schooling but he obtained a private pilot’s license in 1938 and between 1934 and 1940 he was employed in a number of jobs including engine mechanic and at a tannery. He enlisted in the RCAF on 19th December 1940 and on 2nd September 1942 he married Maude. He was awarded his flying badge on 21st July 1943 and embarked for the UK on 22nd October 1943 arriving on 30th October. On 29th February 1944 he was posted to 6 (P) AFU for advanced training and to 22 OTU at RAF Wellesbourne Mountford on 16th May 1944. He was killed on 16th June 1944 when the Wellington bomber HZ715 that he was flying in crashed into a hilltop in the Lake District resulting in the death of all 8 airmen onboard. Frederick was buried at Blacon Cemetery in Chester and is commemorated on the Barrie war memorial in Ontario. There is also a commemorative display honouring the crew of HZ715 at the Wellesbourne Wartime Museum and a memorial plaque near the crash site in the Lake District.
The loss of HZ715
On 16th June 1944 Wellington HZ715 of No.22 Operational Training Unit was to be flown on a cross country training flight combined with a dual control flying exercise with a mixed crew. A trainee crew of five were to fly their first cross country flight in the Wellington, they were to be joined by two instructing aircrew; one giving wireless operating instruction and the other ( Albert Cooper) as a pilot instructor. Also on board was a passenger, Unterseher (who was also an instructor) making a total crew of eight. The route that was planned in advance of taking off was to fly from base of Wellesbourne Mountford and use turning points of Newmarket, Barnard Castle, Malton, Aylesbury, Priors Hardwick before returning to base. The passenger had obtained permission to obtain a lift to Crosby on Eden airfield, near Carlisle a few days before this flight as he was to go on a period of leave and his commanding officer had permitted him to fly as a passenger in a Wellington the next time a cross country flight was roughly in the area. The leg of this flight was then extended from Barnard Castle to head to Crosby on Eden to land and drop off the passenger before heading back south. With the route of the cross country training flight agreed the night previously, the passenger then checked the weather forecast prior to take off. The Met Officer later stated that he believed that the landing was to be made in Yorkshire and not at Carlisle and while the forecast was not at all good over the North of England it was deemed acceptable to fly the route and land in Yorkshire. In general this was a reasonably common occurrance for aircrew to use available aircraft to ferry themselves around when the opportunity arose. The Wellington took off from Wellesbourne Mountford at 10.24hrs and begun flying the planned route. All appears to have gone well until they passed Barnard Castle but then they appear to have flown into poor weather. Believing they were flying on the correct course they began to let down through cloud to make the landing at Crosby on Eden, what had actually happened is that they had flown off track by twenty five miles earlier in the flight and instead of making an east-west approach to Crosby they had flown across the northern Lake District from east to west and begun to let down through cloud while crossing high ground. Their course would have seen them cross over the "Dodds" / Helvellyn range at a safe height but then to descend reasonably quickly heading west flying roughly over the Newlands Pass, the aircraft was heard flying over Buttermere but then failed to clear high ridge between Red Pike and High Seat. It struck the rock face only feet below the summit of Red Pike at 13.35hrs killing all on board instantly.
Crew
Pilot (Instructor) - P/O Albert Digby Cooper RCAF (J/18201), aged 25. Buried Blacon Cemetery, Chester (A/1068).
Pilot (Pupil) - F/O Frederick Allan Dixon RCAF (J/35425), aged 27. Buried Blacon Cemetery, Chester (A/986).
Pilot (Passenger) - F/Lt Emil Unterseher RCAF (J/16129), aged 29. Buried Blacon Cemetery, Chester (A/322).
Navigator - F/O Daniel Titleman RCAF (J/38329), aged 26. Buried Blacon Cemetery, Chester (A/63).
Bomb Aimer - Sgt George McCrimmon Anderson RCAF (R/168378), aged 29. Buried Blacon Cemetery, Chester (A/896).
Wireless Operator / Air Gunner (Instructor) - F/O Roy Edward Simonson RCAF (J/19182), aged 23. Buried Blacon Cemetery, Chester (A/149).
Wireless Operator / Air Gunner - WO1 George Richard Coathup RCAF (R/115256), aged 23. Buried Blacon Cemetery, Chester (A/279).
Air Gunner - Sgt Campbell McRae Hodges RCAF (R/266186), aged 34. Buried Blacon Cemetery, Chester (A/806).
The enquiry into the accident found that the primary responsibility for the accident was that the Captain, Cooper had not determined his location properly before commencing a descent through cloud which was not in accordance with standard operating procedures. The passenger Unterseher was also partly responsible because he had obtained an incorrect weather forecast from the Met Officer prior to the flight. Other contributing factors were determined to be:
1 Approval for the flight and the detour to drop off the passenger was given the day before the flight meaning that the decision was made without full knowledge of the weather conditions.
2 The navigator was on his first flight in a Wellington and his determination of the aircraft location should have been cross checked
3 The navigator had never used GEE position locating equipment in the air before and had only practiced its use on the ground
Marriage Announcement
Accident Report 1
Accident Report 2
Accident Report 3
Accident Report 4
Enquiry 1
Enquiry 2
Enquiry 3
Enquiry 4
Enquiry 5
Enquiry 6
Enquiry 7
Memorial plaque near crash site
Wellesbourne Wartime Museum display
Research by Steve Merrill