E39 REGINALD KENNETH WILLIAM HATHORN (2)

E039 Reginald Kenneth William HATHORN, Leading Air Fitter, L/FX690882, HMS Goldfinch. Died 5th April 1946 aged 23 years. Son of Henry Edwin and Minnie Ethel Hathorn, nee Davis of Hayes, Middlesex. He was part of a crew in a Wellington bomber from RAF Hal Far which crashed in a built-up area of St Publius Street, Rabat, Malta at about 11.15am.

Extract from https://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/wiki.php?id=174234

The crew was completing a training sortie, simulating an aerial attack with a RAF Spitfire. While cruising at a height between 4,000 and 5,000 feet, the aircraft banked 20° to the left then dove into the ground and crashed in the center of the city. The aircraft exploded on impact and damages on ground were so heavy with several houses destroyed. All four crew members were killed plus 16 people on the ground. Several others were injured, some of them seriously.

Cause: The loss of control was attributed to strong smoke spread in the cockpit due to a leak on a hydraulic line, intoxicating the crew that was unable to maintain a directional control of the aircraft and could not send any distress call.

At rest in Capuccini (Kalkara) Naval Cemetery, Malta Plot E Grave 39