Kite’s Old Tales · Conche, Newfoundland · November 1942
At Stage Cove, a piece of wartime history still rests where it came down. Kite looked toward the old wreck and wondered, “B’ys, how’d a bomber from Gander end up in Conche?”
The answer begins on November 30, 1942. Three Boston aircraft left Gander on a ferry flight to England, following a northern route by Greenland. They were being delivered overseas, not sent on a bombing run over Newfoundland.
Out over the Atlantic, bad weather and severe icing made the flight dangerous. The crews turned back toward Gander. Two aircraft were lost in the ocean; the third, Boston BZ-277, made it to land at Conche. It was piloted by Squadron Leader Robert Morrow of Ferry Command.
There was no smooth landing to be had. Navigator Pilot Officer C.W. Tamblyn bailed out at about 600 feet and landed safely. Morrow brought the aircraft down roughly at Stage Cove. He and radio operator Flight Sergeant J.C. McLaughlin survived.
Salvage began soon afterward. The aircraft’s crew, men from Conche, and the crew of the RCAF coastal ship L.K. Sweeney removed some parts. A second salvage effort never took place, and pieces of the bomber remained where it had come down.
Today the wreck is still at its original site, fenced and marked as a heritage place. It is a quiet reminder that Newfoundland was part of the great wartime routes across the Atlantic—and that weather could turn a routine crossing into a fight to get home.
Kite lowered his voice. “Two tried for Gander, and one came down here in Conche, b’ys. Some journeys don’t end where the map says they should.”
Sources and credits
This Puffincove retelling is based on the Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador’s 1942 Plane Crash Site Municipal Heritage Site and the Canadian Register of Historic Places’ 1942 Plane Crash Municipal Heritage Site.