More information : The prominent crash site of aircraft LL505, a British Handley Page Halifax Mark V heavy bomber, which crashed onto Great Carrs, Coniston Cumbria on 22nd October 1944 (according to source 1, at map reference 271008). It was part of 1659 Heavy Conversion Unit, 6 Group and was on a night navigation exercise from RAF Topcliffe when the accident happened. The Canadian crew of 8 men were all killed. Because of its high and remote location RAF salvage teams were unable to remove the wreckage and instead cut it up and pushed some parts into Broad Slack. Although much wreckage had been removed by souvenir hunters by the late 1990s, many large sections can still be seen on the scree slopes and gullies of Great Carrs. (1)
LL505 became completely lost whilst on a navigational exercise and crashed at Great Carrs, map reference 272008. On the summit of Great carrs is a small cairn curmounted by a memorial cross to commemorate the crash. (2)
Two engines from LL505 are in the Ruskin Museum (Coniston, Cumbria) and the RAF Wyton museum. (3)
LL505 was one of a batch of 460 Handley Page Halifax Mark V aircraft delivered between July 1943 and July 1944 by Roots Securities, Speke. The relevant Air Britain volume of RAF losses appears to show that the original entry reporting the crash on 22-OCT-1944 contained an error: "flew into high cloud 3 Miles north west of Coniston, Lancs" (sic). (4)
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