Graves witness RAF’s worst air disaster
Two of the crew of a Handley Page 0/400 bomber which crashed at Maxstoke are buried in the churchyard.
The big bomber took off from 14 Aircraft Acceptance Park at Castle Bromwich Aerodrome for a test flight with two pilots and five crew on board.
The plane lost fabric from a wing causing a loss of control, crashing into a field at Maxstoke. All seven crew were killed. It was the worst air disaster for the fledgling Royal Air Force and the UK.
Lieutenant R. E. Macbeth was the experienced pilot. Second Air Mechanic H. Simmonds was said at the inquest to be a passenger to make up war load to pilot’s instructions.
A RAF record card held at the RAF Museum and addressed to Lt Macbeth’s father in Toronto says the cause of the accident was “in our opinion that the fabric stripping caused the pilot to attempt a forced landing and the undercarriage failed to stand up to its work.”