ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 138833
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Date: | Wednesday 26 May 1943 |
Time: | 17:05 approx |
Type: | North American P-51 Mustang Mk I |
Owner/operator: | 2 (AC) Sqn RAF |
Registration: | AG623 |
MSN: | |
Fatalities: | Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1 |
Other fatalities: | 2 |
Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
Location: | Smedmore Hill, Kimmeridge, Dorset and adjacent areas -
United Kingdom
|
Phase: | En route |
Nature: | Military |
Departure airport: | RAF Thruxton, Hampshire |
Destination airport: | RAF Thruxton after ops to France |
Narrative:26 May 1943: three Mustang 1s (AG623, AG550 and AP210) of 2(AC) Squadron, RAF, were flying in close formation as part of "Operation Asphalt", a "Ranger" sortie, twice postponed already due to bad weather. 'Asphalt' was a sortie to carry out armed reconnaiscence and any offensive operations on rail movements in the Rennes-Laval-Le Mans-Chateaubriand-Blain-Redon-Rennes area. At 1650 hours ten Mustangs from 2(AC) Squadron took off in bad weather from Thruxton, Hants.
The bad weather consisted of a bank of sea fog in the Channel and along the South Coast. The three 2 (AC) Squadron pilots who were lost were part of a formation of 10 aircraft that was heading out for France in line-abreast formation and ordered by the formation leader to climb above the approaching high ground, but the three pilots failed to climb fast enough or high enough.
In the right-hand element of the formation Flying Officer D Hirst (in AG623/XV-W), flew in fog into Smedmore Hill, Dorset, with Pilot Officer J B McLeod (in AP210/XV-Y) crashing nearby and Flying Officer N J Miller (in AG550/XV-U) slightly further away to the north. All three aircraft were destroyed by the crash impact and subsequent fire, and all three pilots killed.
The remaining seven Mustang 1's returned to Thruxton safely, but it was considered later that the operation should have been cancelled due to the bad weather forecast and experienced.
Sources:
http://web.archive.org/web/20130321095657/http://daveg4otu.tripod.com:80/dorset/dorcrash.html https://forum.keypublishing.com/showthread.php?80732-Weather-Inflicted-Air-Accidents-In-The-RAF http://www.rafcommands.com/forum/showthread.php?5271-Operation-Ashfelt-25-5-43/page2&s=89eab0bd7ad9b4059362af4934385014 'Where the Lysanders were .....' (the story of Sawbridgeworth's airfields) P A Doyle (pub by Forward Airfield Research Publishing 1995) ISBN 09525 624 05
Dorset Constabulary report to Whitehall on daily crashed aircraft in County
Revision history:
Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
28-Sep-2011 12:12 |
Dr. John Smith |
Added |
12-Nov-2011 23:34 |
Nepa |
Updated [Operator, Source] |
11-Aug-2013 08:49 |
JINX |
Updated [Aircraft type, Operator, Narrative] |
18-Feb-2015 16:03 |
paddy |
Updated [Other fatalities, Location, Destination airport] |
13-May-2015 17:49 |
Komes123 |
Updated [Operator, Departure airport] |
09-Jan-2016 16:07 |
Anon. |
Updated [Narrative] |
04-Jun-2017 15:50 |
paddy |
Updated [Time, Operator, Source, Narrative] |
16-Jun-2017 19:30 |
Anon. |
Updated [Narrative] |
21-Nov-2017 17:09 |
paddy |
Updated [Source] |
14-Feb-2018 13:20 |
paddy |
Updated [Source, Narrative] |
24-Feb-2018 18:06 |
paddy |
Updated [Destination airport] |
15-May-2019 09:17 |
TigerTimon |
Updated [Time] |
26-Nov-2020 08:45 |
paddy |
Updated [Time, Location, Narrative] |
09-Feb-2021 15:56 |
paddy |
Updated [Source] |
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