Date:	Tuesday 9 September 1952
Time:	day
Type:	Gloster Meteor F Mk 8
Owner/operator:	226 OCU RAF
Registration:	WH294
MSN:	AWA.5055
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	English Channel, 35 miles ESE of Start Point, Devon -   United Kingdom
Phase:	En route
Nature:	Military
Departure airport:	RAF Stradishall, Suffolk
Destination airport:	RAF Chivenor, Barnstaple, Devon (EGDC)
Confidence Rating:	Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources

Narrative:
Gloster Meteor F.Mk.8 WH294, 226 OCU RAF Stradishall: Delivered 16/11/1951. Written off (destroyed) 9/9/1952 when crashed into the English Channel, 35 miles East South East of Start Point, Devon. The pilot was flying in formation with other Meteors of 226 OCU, when he lost contact with the other aircraft in the formation. He then realised that he compass was unserviceable. Although he then reverted to the back up/standby compass, he was unable to orientate himself with regard to his location, and therefore ditched Meteor WH294 into the English Channel when the fuel ran out. As far as is known, the pilot survived, and was rescued.

Start Point is a promontory in the South Hams district in Devon, England, at approximate Coordinates 50.221767°N, 3.641213°W. Close to the most southerly point in the county, it marks the southern limit of Start Bay, which extends northwards to the estuary of the River Dart.

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 289
3. Royal Air Force Aircraft WA100-WZ999 (James J Halley, Air Britain, 1983)
4. 226 OCU ORB (Operations Record Book)(Air Ministry Form AM/F.540) for the period 1/1/1951 to 31/5/1955: National Archives (PRO Kew) File AIR 29/2165/1 at https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C7162873
5. http://www.ukserials.com/results.php?serial=WH
6. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Start_Point,_Devon

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
10-Jun-2008 14:58	JINX	Added
12-May-2015 09:14	Xindel	Updated [Aircraft type, Operator]
22-Mar-2021 22:50	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Time, Cn, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative]