Vickers Wellington R1646

During a recent Open University residential school week in Scotland studying metamorphic geology and tectonic structures, after one particular days field trip, while on the way way back to our residential school we had a stop over at Braemar. While having a wander round I spotted an aircraft engine on a plinth tucked away in a paved area overlooking the river.

It turned out to be one of the engines from Vickers Wellington R1646 which crashed near Braemar during a training flight on 19th January 1942 killing all those on board, the engines were recovered in 1999 and this one was used in the memorial to the crew of R1646 and all other aircrew that lost their lives flying in the Cairngorn mountains.

The thing that struck me was the nationalities of the crew, like some of my recent posts on crashed wartime aircraft, the crew of R1646 truely was a commonwealth crew, 1 from New Zealand, 2 from Australia, 2 from Canada and 3 from England, they all came together to fight a common foe in our collective hour of need.

May the crew of R1646 and all those that also died flying in the Cairngorns forever rest in peace, they paid the ultimate price, their sacrifice was not in vain.