Date:	Sunday 28 July 1940
Time:	11:55
Type:	De Havilland DH.82A Tiger Moth
Owner/operator:	13 EFTS RAF
Registration:	N9450
MSN:	82504
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 2
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	Shiplake, 2 miles South of Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire -   United Kingdom
Phase:	Manoeuvring (airshow, firefighting, ag.ops.)
Nature:	Military
Departure airport:	RAF White Waltham Airfield, Maidenhead, Berkshire (EGLM)
Destination airport:	RAF White Waltham Airfield, Maidenhead, Berkshire (EGLM)

Narrative:
De Havilland DH.82A Tiger Moth MSN 82504 (Gipsy Major #82551); Taken on charge as N9450 at 20 MU RAF Aston Down, Minchinhampton, Gloucestershire 20.11.39. To 13 EFTS RAF White Waltham, Maidenhead, Berkshire 8.7.40.

Written off when crashed during aerobatics at Shiplake, 2 miles south of Henley,-on-Thames, Oxfordshire 28.7.40; Pupil Pilot Under Training Leading Aircraftman (LAC) William Roy Driscoll, RAF VR (Service Number 912728) and Instructor Sergeant Jack Philip Smith RAF VR (Service Number 742763, aged 19) killed. According to one published report (see link #8):

"At 11.55am, Tiger Moth N9450 was seen by another instructor to be making a dive from 2,000 feet and was on its back as it came down. Civilian witnesses at Shiplake-on-Thames stated that the aircraft was gliding down at about 75-100 feet when it turned steeply and crashed. The aircraft was found on its back and both occupants had been killed. A Court of Inquiry found there was insufficient evidence to determine a cause of the crash. LAC Driscoll is buried in the Hove Old Cemetery, Sussex, and Sergeant Smith is buried in the Downend Cemetery, Mangotsfield, Gloucestershire".

Shiplake (also known as Shiplake-on-Thames) consists of three settlements: Shiplake, Shiplake Cross and Lower Shiplake. Together these villages form a civil parish situated beside the River Thames 2 miles (3 km) south of Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, England. The river forms the parish boundary to the east and south, and also the county boundary between Oxfordshire and Berkshire.

Not repaired: deemed "damaged beyond economic repair" and Struck off charge 6.8.40 as FACE (Flying Accident Cat.E)

1. Royal Air Force Aircraft N1000-N9999 (James J Halley, Air Britain)
2. National Archives (PRO Kew) File AIR 81/2472: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C16471947
3. National Archives (PRO Kew) File AVIA 5/19/W830: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C6577024
4. CWGC: https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/2723508/william-roy-driscoll/
5. CWGC: https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/2451451/jack-philip-smith/
6. https://air-britain.com/pdfs/production-lists/DH82.pdf
7. http://www.airhistory.org.uk/dh/p825.html
8. https://sites.southglos.gov.uk/war-memorials/people/jack-philip-smith/
9. https://scarletboy44.tumblr.com/post/56718441569/remember-sergeant-jack-phillip-smith-rafvr-aged
10. https://www.rafweb.org/Members%20Pages/Casualties/1940s/1940/Casualties_1940_07_3.htm
11. http://www.rafcommands.com/database/wardead/details.php?qnum=111445
12. http://www.rafcommands.com/forum/showthread.php?911-400728-Unaccounted-airmen-28-7-1940&highlight=SMITH&p=4589#post4589
13. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shiplake

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
19-Feb-2022 01:36	Dr. John Smith	Added
19-Feb-2022 10:52	Nepa	Updated [Operator, Operator]
19-Feb-2022 22:06	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Operator, Source]
20-Feb-2022 11:13	Nepa	Updated [Time, Operator, Operator]