Date:	Saturday 26 September 1942
Time:	12:35
Type:	Boulton Paul Defiant Mk I
Owner/operator:	286 Sqn RAF
Registration:	N3494
MSN:	423
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	Clyne Woods, 2 miles from RAF Fairwood Common, Swansea, Wales -   United Kingdom
Phase:	Landing
Nature:	Military
Departure airport:	RAF Fairwood Common
Destination airport:	RAF Fairwood Common, Glamorganshire

Narrative:
286 squadron was formed at RAF Filton on the 17th of November 1941 from No. 10 Group AAC Flight.
From the 24th of January 1942 the squadron was headquartered at newly operational RAF Lulsgate Bottom. However, as the facilities there were still unfinished, from the 2nd of March to the 30th of April the headquarters used RAF Colerne. It returned to Lulsgate only briefly before leaving for RAF Zeals on the 26th of May. The squadron served at various locations and detachments around the west country and Wales before finally moving to RAF Weston Zoyland, where it was disbanded on the 16th of May 1945.

The detachments of the squadron unusually did not have numbers, but instead went by the locations of their postings. Fairwood Detachment had a strength of one Airspeed Oxford and a Defiant, N3494. Their chief tasking was Army Co-Operation.

Take off at 10:30 hrs, the tasking for N3494 and its Polish pilot was interacting with 61st Brigade LAA at Swansea. He was to fly at 8,000 feet allowing the gunners to train their guns at a fast aircraft. After completion, return to Fairwood. Unfortunately, 2 miles from Fairwood his engine failed forcing F/O Bobola had to conduct a forced landing into a small forest clearing the Defiant was cat ‘B’.

The following accident investigation follows.
“Fuel contents gauges had been wrongly connected up. In such a way that the Port gauge gave the contents in the Starboard tank and visa versa. When the fuel gauge for his Port tank was reading low, F/O Bobola changed the cock to the Starboard’, which was, in reality the one already empty and after a few minutes the engine cut. F/O Bobola is exonerated. The A/C landed with U/C retracted into a small clearing in precipitous woodland country 2 miles from Fairwood Common.”

Flying Officer T W A Bobola was in the air on the 30th of September, this time in Defiant N1771 for another similar exercise, this time with 45 Brigade HAA at Cardiff flying at between 6,000 and 10,000 feet.
Crew:
F/O (P.0282) Tadeusz Wladyslaw Andrzeg BOBOLA (Pol.pilot) PAF. Safe.

Additional Information:
F/O Bobla came from 315 (Polish) Squadron to 286 Squadron on the 24th of March 1942. He saw out the war, staying on in the UK, marrying and raising children. He sadly passed away at Preston Royal Hospital on the 28th of January 2011 at the age of 95.

Other Detachments of 286 Squadron:
RAF Colerne. RAF Middle Wallop. RAF Exeter. RAF Harrowbier. RAF Carew Cheriton. RAF Rhoose. RAF Perrenporth & RAF Kemble.

It is believed the guns of 61 Brigade were at Jersey Marine and 45 Brigade were those at Lavernock Point.

1. Royal Air Force Aircraft N1000-N9999 (James J Halley, Air Britain, 1977 p 20)
2. 286 Squadron ORB for the period 1.11.1941 to 31.5.1945: National Archives (PRO Kew) File AIR 27/1621: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C2504263
3. http://www.rafcommands.com/database/serials/details.php?uniq=N3494
4. https://listakrzystka.pl/en/bobloa-tadeusz
5. http://www.polishsquadronsremembered.com/317/317pilot_list.html
6. https://air-britain.com/pdfs/military/Crashes_Wales_and_West_Midlands.pdf
7. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No._286_Squadron_RAF
8. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clyne_Valley_Country_Park
9. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAF_Fairwood_Common#History

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
04-Feb-2008 16:01	JINX	Added
22-Apr-2015 20:14	King T.	Updated [Operator, Location, Destination airport, Source]
25-Sep-2022 19:02	Davies 62	Updated [Time, Location, Departure airport, Source, Narrative]