Arisdale Crash Memorial

Shetlopedia - The Shetland Encyclopaedia

The wooden cross

The plaque on the cross

This memorial, in the Hamnavoe kirkyard, South Yell, is in remembrance of the crewmembers of Catalina flying boat, Z2148, of the 240th Squadron, who lost their lives in the aircrash at Arisdale on the 19th of January 1942.
On the 18th they had taken off from their homebase in Northern Ireland, on a mission to the Norwegian coast to bomb the "Tirpitz". They topped up their fuel in Invergordon before they set out over the North Sea. The weather conditions were bad and the plane started iceing. Then one of the engines failed. They lost height, and had to drop their bombs over the sea. They decided to try to land at Sullom Voe. A message was sent to Sullom Voe to inform about their problems. The message was received, but for unknown reasons, the message was not passed on to the flying control. When they arrived there at around 01.00 in the night, no landing flares were to be seen. They tried to get radio contact, and finally their calls were answered by Sumburgh. From there they managed to alert Sullom Voe.
The night was cold, pitch black and with snow showers. The Catalina started circling, but they found that everytime they were over land, there was a sudden loss of height, therefore they circled over the sea. Finally, at 05.00 in the morning, they got the message that a partial flare path had been laid, and they could try to land.

What happened is difficult to know, but it is almost certain that the plane was caught in a severe down draft, and it hit the top of Arisdale Hill. The Co-pilot, A Helme, was thrown through the windscreen when the plane crashed. He managed to save two of his wounded crewmates out of the burning wreck before the flames drove him back. After making them as comfortable as possible, he walked down the valley to the farm of Bruce Henderson. Mr. Henderson went to the store in Hamnavoe, and from there telephoned the Home Guard. The two wounded men were brought to hospital, and the remains of the seven dead crewmembers were brought down and buried at the kirkyard in Hamnavoe.
Some time after, the memorial stone was erected by the inhabitants of Yell.
Beside the stone there is a wooden cross with a copper plaque.
There is also a memorial erected on the crash site. It is a nine foot high stainless steel Celtic cross, it was erected in September 1991 by members of the island community.
The plaque on it reads: In memory of the crew of the Catalina flying boat of 240 Squadron Royal Air Force which crashed here on 19 January 1942

One of the propellor blades from the plane is erected on a stone at the Old Haa Museum in Burravoe.

Propellor at The Old Haa

The Memorial at the crash site. Photo from Shetland Museum and Archives

Shetland Museum photo of the plaque on the propeller blade at the Auld Haa Museum.

The Names of the survivors were:

The Names of the dead crewmembers were: