Andrew Jack (RAF Sergeant)
Andrew Simpson William Jack | |
|---|---|
| Born | 8 May 1921 Grangemouth, Stirlingshire, Scotland |
| Died | 22 March 1978 (aged 56) Brighton, Sussex, England |
| Allegiance |  United Kingdom |
| Service/ |  Royal Air Force |
| Rank | Retired as a Flight Lieutenant |
| Unit | 228 Squadron Royal Air Force |
| Battles/wars | World War 2 Coastal Command |
Andrew Simpson William Jack (1921-1978) was a member of the Royal Air Force and aircrew in World War 2. He was the only surviving member of the crew of a Mark 3 Short S.25 Sunderland that crashed in the Scottish Highlands on a headland known as Eagle's Rock near Caithness on 25 August 1942.[1][2] This crash killed HRH Prince George, Duke of Kent who was on duty and then a serving Air Commodore in the RAF on a mission to Reykjavik;[3] a loss keenly felt by the British Prime Minister.[4]
Sergeant Jack and his fellow crew were members of 228 Squadron based at RAF Oban and were flying in Sunderland W4026 squadron (call sign DQ-M).[5] 228 Squadron was part of 18 Group involved in long range maritime operations and particularly anti-submarine warfare, reconnaissance and long range liaison flights.
The doomed flight to Reykjavik took off from RAF Invergordon on the Cromarty Firth at 1305 GMT on Sunday 25 August 1942 into foggy weather. The Sunderland (flying on instruments) veered off its flight plan track and crash into the remote Eagle's Rock[6] at 13:42 GMT.[7] 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 made for wind that caused the aircraft to drift off its planned track up the eastern coast of Scotland.[8][9]
At the time of the crash Jack (then a Sergeant Wireless Operator) was manning the Sunderland's rear gun turret which contributed to his survival. Thirteen other crew and passengers including the Duke of Kent perished in the crash.[10][11]
When it crashed the aircraft was carrying the following personnel:[12][13]
Passengers
- Air Commodore HRH The Duke of Kent.
- Lieutenant John Crowther, RNVR, the Duke's Private Secretary
- Pilot Officer The Honourable Michael Strutt RCAF, Air Equerry.
- Leading Aircraftman John Walter Holes, the Duke's Batman.
Crew
- Flight Lieutenant Frank McKenzie Goyen, Aircraft Captain.
- Wing Commander Thomas Moseley, (Officer Commanding of 228 squadron), 1st pilot.
- Pilot Officer Sidney Wood Smith RAAF, 2nd pilot.
- Pilot Officer George Saunders, Navigator.
- Flight Sergeant William Jones, Fitter/Mechanic and Air Gunner.
- Flight Sergeant Charles Lewis, Airframe Fitter.
- Flight Sergeant Edward Hewerdine, Wireless Electrical Mechanic/Air Gunner.
- Sergeant Edward Blacklock, RNZAF, Wireless Operator/Air Gunner.
- Sergeant Arthur Roland Catt, Wireless Operator/Air Gunner.
- Sergeant Leonard Sweett, Fitter.
- Sergeant Andrew Jack, Wireless Operator/Air Gunner (sole survivor).
Sergeant Jack recovered from the injuries he sustained in the accident and would be later commissioned as a Pilot Officer in the General Duties Branch on 12 January 1945[14] and served in the RAF up until 1964; retiring as a Flight Lieutenant.[15][16] The remains of some of the 228 Squadron crew were interred at Pennyfuir Cemetery in Oban.[17]
Andrew Jack was born in Grangemouth in 1921 and died in Brighton in 1978 aged 56.[18]
Gallery
-
The rear turret of a Short S.25 Sunderland
-
A Mark 3 S.25 Short Sunderland
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The 18 Group war memorial at Ganavan Bay, near RAF Oban
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Sunderland W4026's crash site memorial on Eagle's Rock
References
- ↑ "BBC NEWS UK - Secret of duke's plane death". news.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 22 June 2017.
- ↑ Ranter, Harro. "ASN Aircraft accident Short Sunderland III W4026 Dunbeath, Scotland". aviation-safety.net. Retrieved 22 June 2017.
- ↑ "Mystery still surrounds Eagle's Rock air crash". www.johnogroat-journal.co.uk. Archived from the original on 4 February 2015. Retrieved 22 June 2017.
- ↑ "DEATH OF AIR COMMODORE HIS ROYAL HIGHNESS THE DUKE KENT (Hansard, 8 September 1942)". hansard.millbanksystems.com. Retrieved 23 June 2017.
- ↑ media, oban future. "Oban Royal Air Force Station, Scotland - The Flying Boat Squadrons". www.rafoban.co.uk. Retrieved 22 June 2017.
- ↑ "THE CRASH OF THE DUKE OF KENT". www.iwm.org.uk. Retrieved 23 June 2017.
- ↑ Ranter, Harro. "ASN Aircraft accident Short Sunderland III W4026 Dunbeath, Scotland". aviation-safety.net. Retrieved 23 June 2017.
- ↑ "AIRCRAFT ACCIDENT (COURT OF INQUIRY, FINDINGS) (Hansard, 7 October 1942)". hansard.millbanksystems.com. Retrieved 23 June 2017.
- ↑ "Short Sunderland W4026, Eagle's Rock, Caithness | Air Crash Sites-Scotland". www.aircrashsites-scotland.co.uk. Retrieved 23 June 2017.
- ↑ "DUKE OF KENT CRASH VICTIM! (August 26, 1942)". Retrieved 22 June 2017.
- ↑ [email protected], Undiscovered Scotland:. "Eagle's Rock Feature Page on Undiscovered Scotland". www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk. Retrieved 22 June 2017.
- ↑ media, oban future. "Oban Royal Air Force Station, Scotland - The Flying Boat Squadrons". www.rafoban.co.uk. Retrieved 22 June 2017.
- ↑ Nesbit, Roy Conyers (2010). Missing: Believed Killed: Amelia Earhart, Amy Johnson, Glenn Miller and the Duke of Kent. Pen and Sword. pp. 107–108. ISBN 9781848843196. Retrieved 22 June 2017. Search this book on
- ↑ "SUPPLEMENT TO THE LONDON GAZETTE, 3 APRIL, 1945" (PDF). The London Gazette. Retrieved 23 June 2017.
- ↑ media, oban future. "Oban Royal Air Force Station, Scotland - The Flying Boat Squadrons". www.rafoban.co.uk. Retrieved 22 June 2017.
- ↑ Nesbit, Roy Conyers (2010). Missing: Believed Killed: Amelia Earhart, Amy Johnson, Glenn Miller and the Duke of Kent. Pen and Sword. p. 125. ISBN 9781848843196. Retrieved 22 June 2017. Search this book on
- ↑ Pennyfuir, Cemetery. "Frank Mackenzie Goyen ( - 1942) - Find A Grave Memorial". www.findagrave.com. Retrieved 23 June 2017.
- ↑ England & Wales, Civil Registration Death Index, 1916-2007
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