Date:	Sunday 31 August 1952
Time:	day
Type:	De Havilland DH.82A Tiger Moth
Owner/operator:	8 RFS RAF
Registration:	NL702
MSN:	86185
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	RAF Woodley, Reading, Berkshire, England -   United Kingdom
Phase:	Approach
Nature:	Training
Departure airport:	RAF Woodley, Reading, Berkshire
Destination airport:
Confidence Rating:	Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources

Narrative:
De Havilland DH.82A Tiger Moth MSN 86185; Taken on charge as NL702 at 38 MU RAF Llandow, Glamorgan 10.7.43. To 18 EFTS RAF Fairoaks, Chobham, Surrey 29.9.43. To 18 RFS RAF Fairoaks, Chobham, Surrey 26.6.47, coded “RCT-X”. To 7 RFS RAF Desford, Leicestershire 30.5.50. To 8 RFS RAF Woodley, Reading, Berkshire 13.5.52

Written off (destroyed) 31.8.52 when stalled and spun into ground while overshooting approach to RAF Woodley Airfield, Woodley, Reading, Berkshire. The pilot was killed

Crew of Tiger Moth NL702:
Flying Officer (2603760) Edward Littleton FARRANDS (pilot) RAF - killed in service 31 August 1952

The pilot was one of the survivors of the crew of Handley Page Hampden L4087 of 44 Squadron, RAF, which ditched in Tannis Bay off Kandestederne, Denmark, on 20th July 1940. (see links #6 & #7). He was sent to Dulag Luft at Oberursel, near Frankfurt in Germany, arriving at the camp on 21st July 1940.

After interrogation, Edward Farrands was sent to Stalag Luft I Barth, and in March 1942 to Stalag Luft III Sagan ,where he stayed until October 1942. He was then sent back to Stalag Luft I Barth, where he remained until October 1943. He was then moved to Stalag Luft VI Heydekrug. In July 1944 he was transferred to Stalag Luft IV Gross Tychow, where he stayed until February 1945.

The POWs were then sent on a long and cold march, during which several of them managed to slip away. It is not known from where or when Farrands was released before returning to England. However, he signed his General Questionnaire for British Ex-Prisoners of War back in England on 8th May 1945.

Tiger Moth NL702 was fomrally Struck Off Charge as Cat.5(c) on 17.9.52.

1. Halley, James (1999) Broken Wings – Post-War Royal Air Force Accidents Tunbridge Wells: Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd. p.133 ISBN 0-85130-290-4.
2. Royal Air Force Aircraft NA100-NZ999 (James J Halley, Air Britain)
3. Last Take Off; A Catalogue of RAF Aircraft Losses 1950 to 1953 by Colin Cummings p.287
4. http://www.airhistory.org.uk/dh/p861.html
5. https://air-britain.com/pdfs/production-lists/DH82.pdf
6. https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/39262/supplement/3361/data.pdf
7. https://44sqn.com/newsletters/intro/page-3/
8. http://www.flensted.eu.com/194012.shtml
9. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woodley,_Berkshire#Woodley_Aerodrome

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
22-Mar-2021 16:53	Dr. John Smith	Added
23-Mar-2021 18:07	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Narrative]
07-Apr-2021 17:36	yarbi	Updated [Operator, Location, Departure airport, Narrative, Operator]
08-Oct-2021 00:10	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Operator, Source, Narrative]
08-Oct-2021 00:13	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Category]
08-Oct-2021 22:06	Nepa	Updated [Operator, Operator]