Date:	Wednesday 10 July 1946
Time:	day
Type:	Gloster Meteor F Mk III
Owner/operator:	74 (Tiger) Sqn RAF
Registration:	EE334
MSN:
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	Purton, 3 miles North of Berkeley, Gloucestershire, England -   United Kingdom
Phase:	En route
Nature:	Military
Departure airport:	RAF Colerne, Chippenham, Wiltshire
Destination airport:	RAF Horsham St Faith, Norfolk
Confidence Rating:	Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources

Narrative:
Gloster Meteor F.III EE334: Delivered to 74 (Tiger) Squadron, RAF Horsham St. Faith, Norwich, Norfolk 22.6.45 coded "4D-H"

Collided with Meteor F.III EE309/"4D-O" (also of 74 Squadron) in formation and control lost; dived into ground, Purton, 3 miles North of Berkeley, Gloucestershire 10.7.46; pilot of Gloster Meteor EE334 killed. Pilot of Gloster Meteor EE309 - Warrant Officer C Brown - survived. (Meteor EE309 sustained damage to the port wing, but was repaired and returned to service by 31.10.46)

Crew of Meteor EE334
Flt/Lt (168659) David Wyndham Davies (pilot) RAFVR- killed on active service 9-7-46, buried at Bridgend Cemetery, Bridgend, Glamorgan

Purton is a village on the east bank of the River Severn, 3 miles north of Berkeley, in Gloucestershire, England. The village is in the civil parish of Hinton. It lies opposite the hamlet of Purton on the west bank of the river. The Gloucester and Sharpness Canal passes through the village.

NOTE: Several published sources quote the crash location as "Durton" - presumed to be a mis-reading of poor handwriting on the aircraft's accident record card!

1. Halley, James (1999). Broken Wings – Post-War Royal Air Force Accidents. Tunbridge Wells: Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd. p, 33 ISBN 0-85130-290-4.
2. Air-Britain Royal Air Force Aircraft EA100-EZ999
3. Final Landings: A Summary of RAF Aircraft and Combat Losses 1946 to 1949 by Colin Cummings p.181
4. "RAF Write-offs 1946": Air Britain Aeromilitaria 1979 p.101: https://air-britain.com/pdfs/aeromilitaria/Aeromilitaria_1979.pdf
5. Air Britain Aeromilitaria Summer 2009 p.72: https://air-britain.com/pdfs/aeromilitaria/Aeromilitaria_2009.pdf
6. 74 Sqn RAF ORB for the period 1-1-1943 to 31-12-1950: National Archives (PRO Kew) File AIR 27/2431: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C250506
7. https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/2716727/david-wyndham-davies/
8. https://www.rafcommands.com/forum/showthread.php?1453-F-L-David-Wyndham-Davies-168659-Died-10-7-46-74-Sqd&p=7630#post7630
9. https://www.rafcommands.com/database/serials/details.php?uniq=EE334
10. https://historypoints.org/index.php?page=llantwit-major-war-memorial
11. https://www.loughborough-rollofhonour.com/page76.htm
12. https://www.ancientfaces.com/person/david-wyndham-davies-birth-1923-death-1946/163899883
13. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No._74_Squadron_RAF#Meteors,_Hunters,_and_Lightnings
14. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAF_Horsham_St_Faith#Postwar_Royal_Air_Force_use
15. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Purton,_Berkeley

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
18-Jun-2023 02:58	Dr. John Smith	Added
18-Jun-2023 02:59	Dr. John Smith	Updated
18-Jun-2023 09:10	Nepa	Updated
22-Jun-2023 17:43	Dr. John Smith	Updated