The Dunbeath air crash was the crash of a Short S.25 Sunderland Mk. III in the

Scottish Highlands The Highlands (; , ) is a historical region of Scotland. Culturally, the Highlands and the Scottish Lowlands, Lowlands diverged from the Late Middle Ages into the modern period, when Scots language, Lowland Scots language replaced Scottish Gae ...

, on a headland known as Eagle's Rock () near

Dunbeath Dunbeath () is a village in south-east Caithness, Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the nort ...

, Caithness, on 25 August 1942. The crash killed 14 of 15 passengers and crew, including

Prince George, Duke of Kent Prince George, Duke of Kent (George Edward Alexander Edmund; 20 December 1902 – 25 August 1942) was a member of the British royal family, the fourth son of King George V and Queen Mary. He was a younger brother of kings Edward VIII and George ...

, who was on duty as an

Air Commodore Air commodore (Air Cdre or Air Cmde) is an air officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is also used by the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence and it is sometimes ...

in the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

on a mission to

Reykjavík Reykjavík is the Capital city, capital and largest city in Iceland. It is located in southwestern Iceland on the southern shore of Faxaflói, the Faxaflói Bay. With a latitude of 64°08′ N, the city is List of northernmost items, the worl ...

. A message of condolence was proposed in Parliament by Prime Minister

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) was a British statesman, military officer, and writer who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 (Winston Churchill in the Second World War, ...

. A Royal Air Force Board of Inquiry determined that the crash was the result of a navigational error by the crew leading to

controlled flight into terrain In aviation, a controlled flight into terrain (CFIT; usually ) is an aviation accidents and incidents, accident in which an airworthy aircraft, fully under pilot control, is unintentionally flown into the ground, a body of water or other obstac ...

Background

The aircraft, assigned to 228 Squadron, was based at RAF Oban. 228 Squadron was part of 18 Group, involved in long-range maritime operations and particularly

anti-submarine warfare Anti-submarine warfare (ASW, or in the older form A/S) is a branch of underwater warfare that uses surface warships, aircraft, submarines, or other platforms, to find, track, and deter, damage, or destroy enemy submarines. Such operations ar ...

, reconnaissance and long-range liaison flights.

Flight details

The aircraft and crew were on a VIP transport mission to RAF Reykjavik, specifically to fly

, to Iceland. The aircraft took off from a seaplane base at RAF Invergordon on the

Cromarty Firth The Cromarty Firth (; ; literally "kyles traitsof Cromarty") is an arm of the Moray Firth in Scotland. Geography The entrance to the Cromarty Firth is guarded by two precipitous headlands; the one on the north high and the one on the ...

at 1305 GMT on Sunday 25 August 1942 in fog, which persisted. The Sunderland, flying on instruments, veered off its planned flight path and crashed into the remote Eagle's Rock at 13:42 GMT. Fourteen of the fifteen crew and passengers, including the Duke of Kent, died in the crash. Sergeant Andrew Jack was the sole survivor.

Official cause

The official board of inquiry concluded that the plane crashed into the hillside due to an error of navigation; i.e., there was not enough allowance for wind that caused the aircraft to drift off its planned track up the eastern coast of Scotland. The Board noted that investigation at the crash site suggested that the engines were at full power at the time of impact.

Sole survivor

Sergeant Andrew Jack, the aircraft's Wireless Operator/Air Gunner, survived. Jack recovered from the injuries he sustained in the accident, was later commissioned as a

Pilot Officer Pilot officer (Plt Off or P/O) is a junior officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is used by air forces of many countries that have historical British influence. Pilot officer is the lowest ran ...

in the General Duties Branch on 12 January 1945, and served in the RAF until 1964, retiring as a Flight Lieutenant. Jack died in

Brighton Brighton ( ) is a seaside resort in the city status in the United Kingdom, city of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England, south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze Age Britain, Bronze Age, R ...

in 1978 aged 56. Flight Sergeant Jack's niece has claimed that Jack told his brother that the Duke had been at the controls of the plane (the Duke had held a pilot's licence since 1929); that Jack had dragged him from the pilot's seat after the crash; and that there was an additional person on board the plane whose identity has never been revealed.

Interment site

Four of the 228 Squadron crew's remains were interred at Pennyfuir Cemetery in

Oban Oban ( ; meaning ''The Little Bay'') is a resort town within the Argyll and Bute council area of Scotland. Despite its small size, it is the largest town between Helensburgh and Fort William, Highland, Fort William. During the tourist seaso ...

.Oban (Pennyfuir) Cemetery
– Commonwealth War Graves The Duke of Kent was the first member of a British Royal Family to die on active military service since the death of

Prince Maurice of Battenberg Prince Maurice of Battenberg (Maurice Victor Donald; 3 October 1891 – 27 October 1914) was a member of the Hesse, Hessian princely Battenberg family and the extended British royal family, and the youngest grandchild of Queen Victoria. He was k ...

who was killed in action on October 27, 1914 leading his infantry company into battle. The Duke of Kent was buried in the Royal Burial Ground, Frogmore.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dunbeath Air Crash, August 1942 Aviation accidents and incidents in 1942 1942 in aviation Accidents and incidents involving Royal Air Force aircraft Aviation accidents and incidents in Scotland 1942 in Scotland 1942 disasters in the United Kingdom August 1942 in the United Kingdom