Date:	Thursday 11 July 1940
Time:	18:20
Type:	Hawker Hurricane Mk I
Owner/operator:	601 (County of London) Sqn RAF
Registration:	P3681
MSN:
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	'Loft Righe', Solent Road, Cranmore, Yarmouth, Isle of Wight -   United Kingdom
Phase:	Combat
Nature:	Military
Departure airport:	RAF Tangmere, Chichester, West Sussex
Destination airport:	RAF Tangmere, Chichester, West Sussex

Narrative:
Hawker Hurricane Mk.I P3681, 601 (County of London) Squadron, RAF: Written off (destroyed) when lost (Failed to Return) for a Combat Air Patrol. Pilot Survived. According to the official Air Ministry file into the incident (File AIR 81/1078): "Hurricane P3681 crashed on the Isle of Wight, 11 July 1940. Sergeant A W Woolley: injured

Airborne from RAF Tangmere, Chichester, West Sussex for a Combat Air Patrol and Convoy Escort. On 11th July 1940 his aircraft was set alight by a bullet in the gravity tank during an attack on He111's over the Channel off Selsey. He baled out, wounded and burned. His Hurricane, P3681, crashed at Cranmore, Isle of Wight.

At 17:44 hours, a raid of some fifty aircraft attacked Portsmouth. Guided by accurate AA fire, two of our squadrons intercepted the enemy and in the ensuing combat, No 601 Sqn shot down 4 He111s of KG 55 and 1 Bf 110's of ZG 76 for certain and 4 He111s probable. No 145 Sqn shot down 1 Bf110 and 3 He111s for certain and lost one Hurricane (P3681, pilot safe) at about 18:20 hrs. Bombs fell on Portsmouth setting fire to the gas works and causing some casualties. Pilots report that during this engagement, enemy bombers threw out various objects which appeared to be metal turnings, plates and wire, in great quantity.

On the evening of Thursday 11th July 1940, No.601 Squadron were ordered to take off from RAF Tangmere. F/O William H. Rhodes-Moorhouse led the attack on a force of Heinkel He 111’s, escorted by Messerschmitt Bf 110’s over the Channel, off Selsey Bill. F/O Carl R. Davis shot down a Messerschmitt Bf 110, while Flt/Sgt. Arthur H. D. Pond destroyed a Heinkel He 111. Flt/Sgt. Pond then saw it collide with another Heinkel and both fell away in flames. Hurricane Mk.I, Serial No. P3681 was set alight by a bullet in its gravity tank, during an attack on some Messerschmitt Bf 110’s. The pilot, Sgt, Arthur William Woolley baled out with broken ribs and slight burns and was taken to the Parkhurst Hospital on the Isle of Wight. His aircraft crashed at a house belonging to Mr. Manwell, Homeleigh, Solent Road, Yarmouth, Cranmore, Isle of Wight at 6.20pm.

Sergeant Arthur Woolley later recounted the action and wrote:

"I have the honour to report that I made an emergency parachute descent on the 11th July, 1940, from a Hurricane Mk. 1. I was involved in a combat with ME 110’s when I sustained a hit from a cannon shell in the gravity tank. The aircraft caught fire, and I was forced to abandon it, baling out at approximately 23,000 feet."

"The parachute was opened within a few seconds of leaving the aircraft (i.e. within a thousand feet) so that I was well within range of the enemy fighters. When the canopy was examined, approximately fifty bullet holes were found, these being of such a shape as to leave no reasonable doubt that they were made after it opened".

"I am not in a position to state any details of the attacks made upon me, as I was temporarily deafened by the explosions of the cannon shells (three in all) and blinded by burning petrol. However, the parachute section at Tangmere were quite definite in their opinion."

"One point which may be of interest is that a cannon shell exploded in the middle of the pack before it was opened; the parachute still functioned perfectly, however. The splinter holes in the canopy were quite distinct from the bullet holes. This incident occurred when I was in ‘A’ Flight, No.601 Squadron based at RAF Tangmere. I was shot down over Southampton, landing on the South Coast of the Isle of Wight."

1. Royal Air Force Aircraft P1000-P9999 (James J Halley, Air Britain, 1978)
2. National Archives (PRO Kew) File AIR 81/1078: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C14502811
3. http://bbm.org.uk/airmen/Woolley.htm
4. https://www.netweather.tv/forum/topic/63129-the-battle-of-britain-weather-diary/page/2/
5. http://wight.hampshireairfields.co.uk/iowc.html
6. https://www.facebook.com/bob1940/posts/879063309126232?comment_tracking=%7B%22tn%22%3A%22O%22%7D
7. Battle in The Skies over the Isle of Wight, H J T Leal, Isle of Wight County Press, 1988
8. The Battle of Britain Then And Now. Ed. by Winston G. Ramsey. .

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
26-Jan-2010 04:37	John Baker	Added
02-Jul-2010 00:46	angels one five	Updated [Time, Aircraft type, Registration, Operator, Total fatalities, Location, Phase, Nature, Departure airport, Source, Damage, Narrative]
06-Jan-2012 07:19	Nepa	Updated [Time, Aircraft type, Registration, Operator, Departure airport, Source, Narrative]
10-Jan-2012 14:09	Nepa	Updated [Operator, Source]
13-Oct-2019 00:58	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Location, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative]
13-Oct-2019 01:01	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Location, Source, Narrative]