Date:	Sunday 2 February 1941
Time:	14:15
Type:	Boulton Paul Defiant Mk I
Owner/operator:	255 Sqn RAF
Registration:	N3306
MSN:
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 2
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	RAF Kirton-in-Lindsey, Lincolnshire -   United Kingdom
Phase:	Approach
Nature:	Military
Departure airport:	RAF Kirton-in-Lindsey, Lincolnshire
Destination airport:	RAF Kirton-in-Lindsey, Lincolnshire

Narrative:
Boulton Paul Defiant N3306, 255 Squadron, RAF Kirton-in-Lindsey, Lincolnshire. Written off (destroyed) on 2 February 1941. 255 Squadron suffered its first fatal accident when Boulton Paul Defiant Mk.I (N3306) stalled on final approach. According to the Squadron ORB (see link #2) the crash was due to pilot error. The pilot approached the airfield at too low a speed and altitude. This caused the aircraft to stall and hit the ground short of the runway. Of the two crew, one was killed, and one was injured.

Crew:
Sgt (748209) Alan R. JACOBS (pilot, aged 20) RAFVR - killed instantly. Son of Arthur and May Mary Jacobs, of Northampton buried at Northampton (Kingsthorpe) Cemetery, Northamptonshire.
Sgt (935568) Percy Victor THORNTON (Air Gunner) RAFVR - escaped with minor head injuries.

255 squadron re-formed on 23 November 1940 at RAF Kirton in Lindsey. It became operational as a night fighter unit on 5 January 1941, assigned to No.12 Group, but due to snow no flying took place until 8 January 1941. Equipped with the Bolton Paul Defiant Mk.I turret fighter, the squadron used Ground-Controlled Interception (GCI) techniques to guide its aircraft toward their targets, using a procedure called "vectoring". In effect, the GCI Station did the work of a navigator, calculating the course to steer and altitude to achieve in order to intercept the moving target. The ground station then transmitted this information to the fighter pilot by radio; to achieve a successful interception, accurate guidance was required.

Note; The file on the crash of Vickers Wellington N3006 at Barton Mills, Suffolk, 3 March 1940 at the National Archives is mis-labelled as "N3306" causing confusion between the two incidents!

1. Royal Air Force Aircraft N1000-N9999 (James J Halley, Air Britian 1977 p.20)
2. 255 Squadron ORB for February 1941: National Archives (PRO Kew) File AIR 27/1518/4: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/D8437683
3. National Archives (PRO Kew) File AIR 81/4975: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C16689073
4. CWGC: https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/2949457/alan-r-jacobs/
5. http://www.rafcommands.com/database/serials/details.php?uniq=N3306
6. https://www.northlincsweb.net/RAFElshamWolds/html/2nd_february_1941_-_255_sqn_raf_kirton-in-lindsey_-_boulton_paul.html
7. https://www.bcar.org.uk/new1941-incident-logs#feb
8. http://www.255.org.uk/ww2-england.html
9. https://air-britain.com/pdfs/military/Crashes_in_Lincolnshire.pdf
10. http://www.rafweb.org/Members%20Pages/Casualties/1940s/1941/Casualties_1941_02-1.htm
11. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No._255_Squadron_RAF#Kirton_Lindsey
12. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAF_Kirton_in_Lindsey#RAF_Fighter_Command_use

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
22-Mar-2016 07:54	Nepa	Added
28-Mar-2016 09:27	Next	Updated [Time, Location, Narrative]