ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 157487
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| Date: | Tuesday 24 February 1942 |
| Time: | day |
| Type: | Miles Master Mk III |
| Owner/operator: | 60 OTU RAF |
| Registration: | W8623 |
| MSN: | |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | RAF East Fortune, East Lothian, Scotland -
 United Kingdom
|
| Phase: | Approach |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | RAF East Fortune, East Lothian |
| RAF East Fortune, East Lothian |
Miles Master Mk.III W8623, 60 OTU: Written off (destroyed) 24 February 1942. Flew into the ground at RAF East Fortune, East Lothian, Scotland. One source states: "Hit ground in haze during low aerobatics near base".
Pilot killed.
Pilot:
Wing Commander Alexander Nelson Cole RAF (Service Number 37005, aged 29) - killed in a flying accident 24 February 1942. Alexander Cole is buried in Haddington (St Martins) New Burial Ground.
R.I.P.
Wing Commander Cole with the CFI (Chief Flying Instructor) of 60 OTU at the time of the above incident. According to a biography of the pilot (see link #4):
"On the Tuesday, 24th February, 1942, Nelson Cole took off alone in Master III W8623. It does not appear that he was performing any specific training task and in the course of his flight he may simply have misjudged a manoeuvre which resulted in him crashing into the ground on the airfield. He was twenty-nine years old.
Wing Commander Cole appears to have been a very popular person. The Times obituary records a correspondent who wrote the following about him: "Wing Commander Cole was a brilliant officer possessing great organising ability. He worked tirelessly in whatever sphere he found himself, and was exceedingly popular with all those with whom he made contact."
The station's Church of Scotland Padre, Lewis A Sutherland, wrote to his mother on the 27th February and said:
"…You will already have received word of [your son's] death through a flying accident,… We laid him to rest this afternoon with full service honours, and we all felt that we had parted on this earth with one who exemplified in his own life all that was finest and truest in the Royal Air Force. I had known your son for some time, he having been previously on my station in another squadron and we were very close friends. Just a few hours before he was called up Higher, we had a very happy talk together in the Officers' Mess, chiefly about the influence a Chaplain could exercise in the life and well-being of the men, and his views on this, as on other subjects, were most stimulating and helpful. I can truly say that he was beloved by all ranks, for his happy nature, his devotion to duty and his intimate care for all under his command. His going leaves a great blank in the station, and I want you to know how great a place he filled in our hearts. The Church of England Chaplain and I officiated at the funeral service today."
Sources:
1. National Archives (PRO Kew) File AIR 81/12369: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C17083119
2. CWGC: https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/2812540/alexander-nelson-cole/
3. https://air-britain.com/pdfs/military/Crashes_in_IOM_Scotland_and_NI.pdf
4. https://eastlothianatwar.co.uk/page-7/Air%20Accidents.html
5. http://www.rafcommands.com/database/wardead/details.php?qnum=63443
6. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAF_East_Fortune
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 06-Jul-2013 02:46 | angels one five | Added |
| 11-Nov-2014 20:31 | Tu144 | Updated [Operator, Location, Nature, Destination airport, Narrative] |
| 03-Dec-2014 17:28 | angels one five | Updated [Operator, Location, Nature, Narrative] |
| 27-Nov-2018 19:18 | Nepa | Updated [Operator, Narrative, Operator] |
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