A crash at Wigram in 1953 remains the worst RNZAF crash in New Zealand history, killing seven men.
Two Royal New Zealand Air Force De Havilland Devons, the NZ1811 and NZ1810 from RNZAF Station Wigram, collided over Wigram Aerodrome. They had been part of the last section of a 27 aircraft flypast over Harewood International Airport (as Christchurch airport was then called) marking the 1953 London to Christchurch Air Race Prize Giving Ceremony.
When the formation broke up as the aircraft prepared to land back at Wigram, NZ1811 was struck on the wing by its “No. 2”, NZ1810. Both aircraft immediately lost control and plunged to the ground in a paddock at nearby Halswell, killing all aboard. This is still the highest loss of life incurred by the Royal New Zealand Air Force in a single New Zealand accident. They were:
Squadron Leader: Sholto R Duncan
Pilots: Flight Lieutenants Ebbett and Flight Lieutenant Ziesler.
Crewmen: Brian J Keogh, Eric Melrose, William Sharman, Russell Woodcock.
Now this terrible accident has been commemorated in Wigram by naming two of the new streets Edwin Ebbett Place and Erling Ziesler Lane
To read the original account in The Press of 16 October 1953 p. 10, you can visit the Central Library Manchester, and see the pages in microfilm - ask one of our lovely staff for assistance if you haven't used microfilm before.
Following the 75th Anniversary of Wigram Air Base on 25 August 1992, it was closed on 14 September 1995.
To read more
- Call for Wigram Memorial, The Press, 4 October 2014
- For your Tomorrow : A Record of New Zealanders Who Have Died While Serving With the RNZAF and Allied Air Services Since 1915 / Errol W. Martyn
- Wigram : The Birthplace of Military Aviation in New Zealand / Bee Dawson
- Sir Henry Francis Wigram 1857-1934
- Wigram Air Base
- Wigram Airbase Timeline
Add a comment to: 15 October 1953: The worst RNZAF air accident in New Zealand