Monument record MDO28052 - Halifax bomber LL346 crash site, Ashley Wood, Tarrant Keyneston

The approximate site of the crash of aircraft LL346, a Second World War Halifax Mark V heavy bomber/ glider tug manned by Royal Canadian Air Force personnel, which is believed to have come down in Ashley Wood on 27th May 1944. It was part of 644 Squadron, towing a Hamilcar glider from Royal Air Force Tarrant Rushton airfield on a night-time training exercise when the crash occurred. Three of the Canadians on board were killed whilst two survived the crash with injuries. The aircraft was built in March-April 1944 by Rootes Securities at Speake, Merseyside. Please note that should any remains of the crash be located, they would be covered by the 1986 Protection of Military Remains Act and that permission to investigate the site would need to be obtained from the Ministry of Defence.

The approximate site of the crash of aircraft LL346, noted in an undergraduate dissertation on a nearby archaeological monument. LL346 was a Second World War Halifax Mark V heavy bomber/ glider tug manned by Royal Canadian Air Force personnel, which is believed to have come down in Ashley Wood on 27th May 1944. It was part of 644 Squadron, towing a Hamilcar glider from Royal Air Force Tarrant Rushton airfield on a night-time training exercise when the crash occurred. Three of the Canadians on board were killed whilst two survived the crash with injuries. The aircraft was built in March-April 1944 by Rootes Securities at Speke, Merseyside. <1>

Confirms basic circumstances of the crash. Manufacturing details are given on page 54. <2>

<1> Crawford, J, 2008, Keyneston Down: an archaeological survey of an enclosure in the parish of Tarrant Keyneston, Dorset, 82-84 (Unpublished document). SDO12424.

<2> Halley, J J, 1991, Royal Air Force Aircraft LA100 - LZ999, 54, 57 (Monograph). SDO19452.

<3> National Record of the Historic Environment, 1478761 (Digital archive). SDO14739.

Record last edited

Feb 16 2023 2:06PM