Date:	Thursday 18 December 1952
Time:	day
Type:	Gloster Meteor T Mk 7
Owner/operator:	206 AFS RAF
Registration:	WG978
MSN:
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	near Kirton-in-Holland, 5 miles south of Boston, Lincolnshire, England -   United Kingdom
Phase:	En route
Nature:	Military
Departure airport:	RAF Oakington, Cambridgeshire
Destination airport:	RAF Oakington, Cambridgeshire
Confidence Rating:	Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources

Narrative:
Gloster Meteor F.Mk.4 WG978, 206 AFS (Advanced Flying School), RAF: delivered 12/10/1951. Written off (destroyed) 18/12/1952 when this aircraft, and Gloster Meteor F.Mk.4 VT218 (also of 206 AFS) were in line astern fromation and climbing, collided at an altitude of 9,000 feet. The leading aircraft (Meteor VT218) was struck from behind by the following aircraft (Meteor WG978). Both aircraft were near Kirton-in-Holland, 5 miles South of Boston, Lincolnshire.

The fuselage of the leading aircraft (Meteor VT218) was fractured behind the wing, and the fuselage of Meteor WG978 was fractured, and broke off forward of the wing. Of the two crew (one in each aircraft), the pilot of Meteor VT218 bailed out safely, the pilot of Meteor WG978 was killed instantly when the cockpit canopy struck the leading edge of the wing.

Crew of Meteor WG978
Pilot Officer Dennis Reginald DOWELL (pilot) RAF - killed in service 18/12/1952

Kirton or Kirton-in-Holland is an English village and civil parish in the Borough of Boston, Lincolnshire. It is five miles south of Boston, at approximate co ordiantes 52.92782°N, 0.05978°W

1. Halley, James (1999) Broken Wings – Post-War Royal Air Force Accidents Tunbridge Wells: Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd. p.139 ISBN 0-85130-290-4.
2. Royal Air Force Aircraft SA100-VZ999 (James J Halley, Air Britain)
3. Last Take Off; A Catalogue of RAF Aircraft Losses 1950 to 1953 by Colin Cummings p.321
4. 206 AFS ORB (Operational Record Book)(Air Ministry File AM/F,540) for the period 1/10/1951 to 31/5/1954: National Archives (PRO Kew) file AIR 29/2146/1 at https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C7162860
5. http://www.rafcommands.com/forum/showthread.php?9765-Meteor-losses-at-206-AFS-RAF-Oakington-1951-to-January-1953
6. http://www.ukserials.com/results.php?serial=VT
7. http://www.bcar.org.uk/1950s-incident-logs#1952
8. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kirton,_Lincolnshire

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
09-Jun-2008 11:41	JINX	Added
12-May-2015 08:54	Xindel	Updated [Aircraft type, Operator]
04-Apr-2021 21:14	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Time, Operator, Total occupants, Location, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative]
04-Apr-2021 21:29	Xindel	Updated [Aircraft type, Operator, Location, Narrative, Operator]
07-Apr-2021 15:25	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Narrative]