ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 221742
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| Date: | Wednesday 10 June 1925 |
| Time: | day |
| Type: | Gloster II |
| Owner/operator: | A&AEE Martlesham Heath |
| Registration: | J7505 |
| MSN: | |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | RAF Cranwell, Sleaford, Lincolnshire, England -
 United Kingdom
|
| Phase: | Landing |
| Nature: | Test |
| Departure airport: | RAF Cranwell, Sleaford, Lincolnshire |
| RAF Cranwell, Sleaford, Lincolnshire | |
| Confidence Rating: |  Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources |
10.6.25: Gloster II J7505, A&AEE Martlesham Heath. Written off (destroyed) when crash landed following elevator flutter, RAF Cranwell, Cranwell, Sleaford, Lincolnshire. Pilot - Lawrence Lander Carter (aged 28) - was severely injured and died 27.9.26, some 15 months later of injuries sustained.
The Gloster II was a British racing floatplane of the 1920s. A single-engined biplane, two were built to compete in the 1924 Schneider Trophy air race. However the crash of the first prototype during testing meant that it could not be made ready for the race, which was postponed. The second aircraft was converted to a landplane and used for flight testing equipment to be used for the Gloster III racer being designed for the 1925 competition. It was lost in a high-speed crash landing at RAF Cranwell following elevator flutter on 10 June 1925, the pilot, Larry Carter, being seriously injured, fracturing his skull
A report in "Flight" magazine (18 June 1925 page 374) contains a description of the accident:
"The Accident to the Gloster II
THE mishap which befell the Gloucestershire Aircraft Company's racing machine, the "Gloster II" at Cranwell the other day, and which resulted in somewhat severe injuries to the pilot, Mr. Larry Carter, was in some ways one of the most amazing ever recorded. The machine had been taken to Cranwell for tests, this being the only available aerodrome of sufficient size and with a good enough surface to make the flying of such a fast machine reasonably safe.
Mr. Carter had flown the machine two or three times previously and everything had appeared to be in perfect order. It was then decided to test the machine over a measured course and Carter, who had been flying it at about 200 ft. for some time, came down to about 40 ft. so as to facilitate correct timing of the machine.
As he approached the ground the tail of the machine was seen to "flutter," and Carter instantly switched off and landed, this being obviously the only thing to do in the circumstances. The machine was, however, going at terrific speed, and it is estimated that at the actual instant when the wheels touched the ground the speed must have been in the neighbourhood of 200 m.p.h. As might have been expected, the tyres were ripped off instantly, and were followed a few seconds later by the wheels, after which the whole undercarriage collapsed, letting the machine down on its belly.
As luck would have it the Fairey-Reid metal propeller struck the ground in a vertical position and was doubled back underneath, thus forming a sort of skid upon which the machine slithered along a distance of some 150 yards, finally coming to a standstill without turning over.
The force of the impact was, however, so great that it flung Mr. Carter forward in his cockpit, and caused him to knock his forehead against the coaming or instrument board. Apart from a fractured skull Mr. Carter also broke a leg"
Sources:
1. http://www.rcawsey.co.uk/Accmisc.htm
2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gloster_II
3. Flight magazine (18 June 1925. page 374): https://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1925/1925%20-%200374.html?
4. http://www.bcar.org.uk/1920s-incident-logs#1926
5. James, Derek J. Gloster Aircraft since 1917. London:Putnam, 1971. ISBN 0-370-00084-6.
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 11-Feb-2019 18:19 | Dr. John Smith | Added |
| 13-Jul-2023 21:25 | Nepa | Updated |
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