Lancaster crash site, Standon Hill

On the night of 24 May 1942 an Avro Lancaster of 207 Squadron flew into Standon Hill, near Tavistock, while on a training flight in bad weather. Four of the six aboard were killed. The pilot and the wireless operator survived with injuries.

• Aircraft: Avro Lancaster I R5617, code EM-T
• Unit: 207 Squadron RAF, from RAF Bottesford, Leicestershire
• Date: 24 May 1942, about 23:30
• Aboard: Six: four killed, two injured
• Grid reference: SX 55814 81786

What happened

It was a night cross-country navigation exercise. The aircraft was flying in cloud and was trying to regain sight of the ground when it struck high ground. Unit, loss and Devon HER records all agree. One of the dead is buried at Buckland Monachorum cemetery.

What you can see

The Devon HER recorded "small fragments" in the late 1990s. A local story from decades later is of a smallholder finding a watch. I found nothing more recent.

Protection and access

The HER says the site lies in the North Dartmoor Site of Special Scientific Interest. I could not confirm whether it falls inside the Willsworthy range area, so check the firing programme before you go.

All military aircraft crash sites in the UK are protected by the Protection of Military Remains Act 1986. It is an offence to dig, move or take anything from one without a licence from the Ministry of Defence, and many are war graves. Look, photograph, leave everything where it is.

Dates and places

The crash appears as 24, 26 and 27 May in different sources. They are the same crash, and 24 May is the date backed by the squadron and loss records. "Stannon Hill" in a published list of Dartmoor crashes is a misspelling of Standon. The grid reference here is Dartefacts'; the Devon HER plots the crash at SX 58000 81500, about 2 km to the east, which looks like a poor plot.