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Date: | Monday 22 March 1937 |
Time: | day |
Type: | Hawker Nimrod Mk II |
Owner/operator: | 800 Sqn FAA RAF |
Registration: | K2913 |
MSN: | |
Fatalities: | Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1 |
Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
Location: | near HMS Courgeous, off Bembridge, Isle of Wight -
United Kingdom
|
Phase: | Initial climb |
Nature: | Military |
Departure airport: | HMS Courageous, off Isle of Wight |
Destination airport: | RAF Eastleigh, Hampshire |
Confidence Rating: | Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources |
Narrative:Hawker Nimrod Mk.II K2913, 800 Squadron, Fleet Air Arm, Coded "108", HMS Courageous: Written off (destroyed) 22/3/37 when crashed into the sea, off Bembridge, Isle of Wight. Pilot - Flying Officer Christopher Blomfield Jelf (Lt, Royal Navy, aged 24) - was killed.
Royal Naval casualty notes (see link #4) state that the pilot died of "illness" (sic) - which implies that he was recovered from the crash scene, but died of injuries sustained later the same day. According to the official Air Ministry announcement in "Flight" magazine (April 1, 1937 page 331 - see link #6):
"FLYING ACCIDENT
The Air Ministry regrets to announce that Lt. Christopher Blomfield Jelf, Royal Navy (Flying Officer, Royal Air Force), lost his life as the result of an accident which occurred off Bembridge, Isle of Wight, on March 22, to an aircraft of No. 800 (Fleet Fighter) Squadron, embarked on H.M.S. Courageous. Lt. Jelf was the pilot and sole occupant of the aircraft."
Starting 22 Mar 1937 800 Sqn were in the process of transferring from HMS Courageous to the shore base of RAF Eastleigh, Hampshire.
Sources:
1. Royal Air Force aircraft K1000-K9999 (James J. Halley, Air Britain, 1976 page 19)
2.
http://www.rcawsey.co.uk/Acc1937.htm 3.
http://www.rafcommands.com/forum/showthread.php?314-RAF-officer-deaths-1-1-29-3-9-39 4.
http://wight.hampshireairfields.co.uk/iowc.html 5.
http://web.archive.org/web/20170912054316/http://www.naval-history.net:80/xDKCas1937.htm 6.
https://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1937/1937%20-%200873.html 7. Air Britain: "The K File - The Royal Air Force in the 1930's"
8. Air Britain: "Squadrons of the Fleet Air Arm" (1984)
Revision history:
Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
03-Mar-2018 21:05 |
Dr. John Smith |
Added |
09-Apr-2018 22:16 |
Dr. John Smith |
Updated [Time, Narrative] |
09-Apr-2018 22:17 |
Dr. John Smith |
Updated [Source] |
10-Nov-2018 13:10 |
Nepa |
Updated [Operator, Operator] |
14-Jan-2021 20:15 |
Castleace |
Updated [Destination airport, Source, Narrative] |