Date:	Thursday 7 August 1952
Time:	day
Type:	Gloster Meteor F Mk 8
Owner/operator:	1 Sqn RAF
Registration:	WE947
MSN:
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	Rowlands Castle, near Horndean, Hampshire -   United Kingdom
Phase:	En route
Nature:	Military
Departure airport:	RAF Tangmere, Chichester, West Sussex
Destination airport:	RAF Tangmere, Chichester, West Sussex
Confidence Rating:	Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources

Narrative:
Gloster Meteor F.8 WE947: Delivered to the RAF at 6 MU 29.5.51. First issued to 1 Sqn, RAF Tangmere 3.7.51 coded JX-L later L. Sustained Cat.3(R) damage at Tangmere 19.2.52. Repaired On Site and returned to 1 Sqn 4.3.52 still coded L. Written off (destroyed) when flew into ground out of cloud in heavy rain, at Rowlands Castle, near Horndean, Hampshire 7.8.52. Crew: Pilot Officer (3507711) Peter Ashman SMITH (pilot) RAF killed. According to the following contemporary newspaper report:

"Portsmouth Evening News - Wednesday 20 August 1952
TOO LATE TO PULL OUT OF DIVE
Verdict on Jet Pilot.
Making an unsuccessful attempt to recover from a dive, through low clouds , the pilot of a Meteor jet aircraft pancaked into a field at Rowlands Castle and was killed.

The theory was put to a jury at a Havant inquest yesterday when they returned a verdict of "Accidental Death" on the pilot, Peter Ashman Smith, a twenty year old Pilot Officer stationed at Tangmere. The jury found that he died from multiple injuries.

Mr R. N. Sherwell (Coroner for South East Hampshire) who referred to the unfortunate number of these accidents in jet aircraft recently, said that he did not think there was anything wrong with the 'plane at the time of the crash. Harry Ellinor, dairyman, of Woodhouse Ashes Farm, Rowlands Castle said that he was working in the garden when he heard the sound of a jet. "On Fire"... "I saw the aircraft coming out of the low clouds. It's two engines were on fire and I saw what appeared to be smoke coming from the rear of them". Mr Ellinor said that the jet went out of sight and then he heard the sound of a crash. He went to the scene and found parts of the 'plane blown to pieces all over the field.

Clouds were only just above the level of the tree tops. Flight Lieutenant Martin Ellis Sidney Evans , commanding "A" Flight, No 1 Squadron, RAF Tangmere said that he had authorised Smith to carry out a routine training flight. Smith had been in the squadron for four months and was a competent pilot on that type of aircraft. The 'plane had received it's normal check that morning during which it had had another flight.

Flight Lieutenant Walter James Sanderson, Flying Control Officer said the pilot asked him for control let-down. He was flying at about 20,000 feet. There was cloud down to about 2,000 feet at the Station. He gave the pilot the course to fly to Tangmere and he acknowledged it. About a minute later he gave Smith a corrected course. Shortly afterwards the pilot got through again to say he was breaking off the exercise. "I asked him why and he said that his compass was behaving erratically".

Senior Technical Officer at Tangmere, Wing Commander Henry Herbert Sims, said the aircraft struck the ground in normal flight. It's undercarriage was not down, nor were the flaps but the dive brakes were out. The engines were still on at the time of impact. "Nose Down"... "It appeared that the aircraft struck the ground in a slightly nose-down attitude and from the position of the surrounding trees, it is obvious that it descended quite sharply and pancaked into the ground".

He continued .."There had been a fire after impact but that had been due to the fuel tanks bursting on impact. From my examination of the engines there was no evidence of previous fire. What Mr Ellinor may have seen coming from the engines was vapour".

Wing Commander Sims also said "From what I have heard from the other witnesses and my examination of the aircraft, I would say that the pilot was making a descent through cloud, and expected to break cloud at about 1,000 feet , but in fact he came out of the cloud in a rainstorm, seeing the ground when he was about 200 or 300 feet up. He then endeavoured to recover from the dive but owing to the trim of the aircraft he pancaked into the ground".

In answer to the jury Wing Commander Sims said that if the aircraft could have been higher the pilot could have made a landing."

1. Halley, James (1999) Broken Wings – Post-War Royal Air Force Accidents Tunbridge Wells: Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd. p.132 ISBN 0-85130-290-4.
2. Last Take-off: A Record of RAF Aircraft Losses 1950 to 1953 by Colin Cummings p 276
3. Royal Air Force Aircraft WA100-WZ999 (James J Halley, Air Britain, 1983 p 36)
4. http://www.ukserials.com/results.php?serial=WE
5. http://sussexhistoryforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=6076.0
6. http://aircrewremembered.com/smith-peter-ashman.html
7. http://www.hampshireairfields.co.uk/hancrash.html
8. http://sussexhistoryforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=10806.0

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
05-Jun-2008 17:05	JINX	Added
12-May-2015 08:46	Xindel	Updated [Aircraft type, Operator, Departure airport, Narrative]
28-May-2017 22:35	Dr.John Smith	Updated [Location, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative]
28-May-2017 22:38	Dr.John Smith	Updated [Source, Narrative]
07-Feb-2020 00:08	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Time, Source, Narrative]
17-Feb-2020 16:27	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Narrative]