Researched 2026-10-11 from the sources listed below. Airframes move between hangars, workshops and loans: check with Lincolnshire Aviation Heritage Centre before travelling to see this one.
The airframe in brief
| Serial / registration | AE436 |
|---|---|
| Type | Handley Page Hampden TB.I (English Electric-built) |
| Built | English Electric, Preston; on charge 17 October 1941 |
| Units / operator | 408 Sqn RCAF; 144 Sqn RAF (PL-J) from 2 May 1942 |
| Lost | 5 September 1942, Tsatsa mountain, Sweden |
| Crew | Five aboard; three killed, two survived |
| Recovered | Wreck found 1976; salvaged by the Swedish Air Force |
| Arrived | East Kirkby, after June 1987; restoration from 1989 |
| Status | Under restoration |
| Where | Lincolnshire Aviation Heritage Centre, Spilsby |
The story of AE436
AE436 was built by English Electric at Preston and taken on charge on 17 October 1941. It went to 408 Squadron RCAF at Syerston. On 15 November 1941 it undershot and its undercarriage collapsed.
After repair it returned to English Electric in April 1942 for conversion to a TB.I torpedo bomber. It joined 144 Squadron on 2 May 1942, coded PL-J.
On the evening of 4 September 1942 it left Sumburgh in Shetland for Afrikanda, near the Finnish border. Sixteen 144 Squadron Hampdens were moving to Russia to cover Arctic convoys. A storm pushed AE436 off course over Sweden.
In the early hours of 5 September it struck Tsatsa mountain, 130 km west-north-west of Jokkmokk. Three of the five crew died. The pilot, Plt Off David Evans, and Cpl Bernard Sowerby survived, were briefly interned and were home by 21 September.
The wreck was found again in 1976. The dead were buried at Kviberg Cemetery, Gothenburg, and the Swedish Air Force recovered the remains to Britain. The crates sat at RAF Henlow until June 1987, when an RAF serviceman traced them.
They went to Coningsby for examination, then to East Kirkby, where serious restoration began in 1989. The work is aimed at static display. Volunteers are rebuilding formers and stringers to the original pattern, starting with the nose.
Seeing AE436 today
The Hampden is an ongoing workshop project at East Kirkby; visitors see fuselage sections being rebuilt rather than a complete aircraft.
| Museum | Adult entry | Airframes | Headline exhibit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lincolnshire Aviation Heritage CentreSpilsby, Lincolnshire | £13.50 | 11 | Lancaster NX611 (taxiing now, returning to flight one day, they swear) and Mosquito NF.II HJ711 — the only running Mosquito in Europe.… |
Also known as: Hampden AE436 · Handley Page Hampden TB.1 · PL-J · East Kirkby Hampden