Ten airmen who perished when their Washington bomber mysteriously crashed in a training exercise 55 years ago have been commemorated in Denbighshire. BBC NEWS | Wales | North East Wales | Respects paid to 1953 bomber crew
Never heard of the Washington before. British name for B-29 , then. RAF - RAF Timeline 1950 -1959RAF History Timeline 1950 -1959 Article 1
The Washingtons were returned to the US 18 months before the first Valiant squadron was operational.Purely a stop gap and operational alongside the Lincoln B2 and never intended as part of a policy to re-equip Bomber Command, the Washingtons were loaned to the RAF at no cost due to the financial state of the country and because of the outbreak of the Korean War in June 1950.As it was, the government had to increase its defence budget by £100 million to meet the commmitment of the Korean war. As more and more Canberra squadrons became operational from 1951 to stand down selected Lincoln B2 squadrons,it was recognised that the Washingtons were no longer required. One problem with the utilisation of the Washington was that aircrews and ground crews of Bomber Command had a training structure based on the Lincoln B2 and had to have "on the job" training on their particular station to convert to the Washington. I am sure that somewhere in RAF records will be the technical reason for the loss of the aircraft.