Date:	Sunday 26 April 1942
Time:	day
Type:	Boulton Paul Defiant Mk II
Owner/operator:	264 (Madras Presidency) Sqn RAF
Registration:	AA377
MSN:	728
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 2
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	2 miles South of Leysdown Gunnery Range, Isle of Sheppey, Kent. -   United Kingdom
Phase:	En route
Nature:	Military
Departure airport:	RAF West Malling, Maidstone, Kent
Destination airport:

Narrative:
Boulton Paul Defiant Mk.II AA377/'PS-B', 264 (Madras Presidency) Sqn RAF: Written off (destroyed) when spun into ground after control lost during gunnery practice 2 miles South of Leysdown Gunnery Range, Isle of Sheppey, Kent, England 26 April 1942. Port Wing dropped at 2,500ft and plane went into vertical dive; pilot tried to pull out of dive at 500 ft, but failed, and plane went into a flat spin to starboard for 3 or 4 turns, before hitting ground and bursting into flames. No evidence to show if loss of control was physical failure on part of pilot or structural failure. Both crew killed.

Crew:
Flight Sergeant Wallace George LEWIS (404565)(pilot) RAAF aged 22 - killed on active service 26 April 1942
Flight Sergeant William MAIR (971422) (Air Gunner) RAF aged 27 - Killed on active service 26 April 1942

Both buried at St Clements Churchyard, Leysdown, Isle of Sheppey, Kent

Flight Sergeant Corser a witness to a Court of Inquiry into the accident stated: “on 26 April Warrant Officer Lauder, Flight Sergeant Lewis and I were detailed for air to sea firing at the Leysdown range. Lauder was firing and Lewis and I were orbiting the range at approximately 2,000 feet. Flight Sergeant Lewis was about 500 feet above me and half a mile in front when I observed that his port wing dropped, and he went into a vertical dive travelling in the opposite direction to his original course. It appeared that Lewis tried to pull out of this dive but only partially succeeded in doing so, when the machine turned to starboard and then hit the ground.”

Flight Sergeant Rose, Flight Sergeant Corser’s Gunner stated: “we were at approximately 2,000 feet awaiting our turn to do our air firing practice. I saw a Defiant diving past us at a very steep angle about 50 feet away on our port side, this dive continued until 500 feet from the ground. The aircraft then went into a flat spin to starboard doing 3 or 4 slow turns before hitting the ground and bursting into flames"

The opinion of the Court was that: “the accident was due to loss of control by the Pilot, but we cannot determine what caused the loss of control.” The Wing Commander Commanding Officer RAF Station West Malling stated: “I concur with the findings. There is no evidence to show whether the loss of control was due to some structural failure or to some temporary physical failure on the part of the Pilot.”

The engine and other pieces from this aircraft are on display at the Norfolk & Suffolk Aviation Museum at Flixton, Bungay, Suffolk.

1. Royal Air Force Aircraft AA100-AZ999 (James J Halley, Air Britain (2nd Edition) 2000 p,6)
2. National Archives (PRO Kew) File AIR 81/13879: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C17206516
3. 264 Squadron ORB for April 1942: National Archives (PRO Kew) File AIR 27/1553/48: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/D8398046
4. CWGC: https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/2361892/wallace-george-lewis/
5. CWGC: https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/2361893/william-mair/
6. https://aviationmuseumwa.org.au/afcraaf-roll/lewis-wallace-george-404565/
7. https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/P10324475
8. https://aircrewremembered.com/AlliedLossesIncidents/?q=Lewis%2C+Wallace+George&qand=&exc1=&exc2=&search_only=&search_type=exact
9. https://sussexhistoryforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=6733.0
10. https://www.abct.org.uk/airfields/airfield-finder/leysdown-shellbeach/
11. National Archives (PRO Kew) File BT297/80: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C2151041
12. https://webapps.kent.gov.uk/KCC.ExploringKentsPast.Web.Sites.Public/SingleResult.aspx?uid=%27mwx17914%27
13. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leysdown-on-Sea

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
07-Feb-2008 10:00	JINX	Added
15-Feb-2011 08:49	barkie	Updated [Source, Narrative]
15-Feb-2011 09:17	Anon.	Updated [Narrative]
01-Feb-2013 14:39	Nepa	Updated [Operator, Phase, Narrative]
12-Oct-2013 16:23	JINX	Updated [Aircraft type, Operator, Narrative]
01-Nov-2013 19:21	Nepa	Updated [Aircraft type, Operator, Departure airport, Narrative]
11-Nov-2014 13:07	HH99	Updated [Location, Narrative]