ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 15982
This information is added by users of ASN. Neither ASN nor the Flight Safety Foundation are responsible for the completeness or correctness of this information.
If you feel this information is incomplete or incorrect, you can submit corrected information.
| Date: | Monday 26 August 1940 |
| Time: | 15:45 |
| Type: |  Hawker Hurricane Mk I |
| Owner/operator: | 310 Sqn RAF |
| Registration: | P3157 |
| MSN: | NN-R |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Substantial |
| Location: | Cranham Hall near Upminster, 5 miles NE of RAF Hornchurch, Essex. -
 United Kingdom
|
| Phase: | Approach |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | RAF Duxford, Cambridgeshire |
Hawker Hurricane Mk.1 P3157 (NN-R) of 310 (Cs) Squadron; lost on combat operations 26 August 1940, pilot bailed out and survived. At 15:45, on 26 August 1940, flying a Hurricane I, P3157, his Flight was involved in a patrol at 15,000 feet over the Thames Estuary near Clacton-on-Sea, Essex. They encountered a formation of 15 Do 215 escorted by Me 109’s and He112’s. In the resulting dog-fight, Prchal made several attacks on enemy aircraft, and achieved success with the shooting down of a Do 215, but had used up all his ammunition. He came under attack himself and his Hurricane was hit by canon and machine gun fire from an enemy aircraft. Prchal’s glycol tank, port wing and rudder were damaged. He took evasive action and turned his aircraft steeply to the right. Vapour from the glycol tank filled the cockpit preventing him from seeing his instruments. He decided to fly against the sun, which would lead him west and land as soon as the English coast appeared. Despite being wounded by metal splinters, from his seat, during the incoming enemy gun-fire, he still managed to walk to a nearby farmhouse to get assistance.
The stricken Hurricane crashed in a field adjoining Cranham Hall Cranham, Havering, near Upminster, approximately five miles North East of RAF Hornchurch, Essex (at approximate co ordinates 51.5519°N 0.2666°E)
During that combat 310 Squadron suffered four aircraft damaged, although only two of these were lost and all the pilots survived.
Both Prchal and the Hurricane survived to fight another day. After repair, the aircraft was employed for a short while on testing at Boscombe Down, suffering an engine failure in January 1941. Its final fate remains unclear, other than it was struck off charge on March 23 1945, which may have been quite some time after it was withdrawn from use. Prchal recovered from his wounds in hospital at Ely and returned to operational flying on 10 September 1940.
The pilot survived the war, on the way gaining worldwide prominence in being the pilot and sole survivor of the Consolidated Liberator bomber which crashed into the sea, killing General Sikorski and others, shortly after take off from Gibraltar on July 4, 1943.
Crew:
Sgt (787982) Eduard M C Prchal (Cs.pilot) RAFVR - injured
In August 1945, Prchal returned to Czechoslovakia and rejoined its Air Force until demobilization in early 1946. He then worked as the chief pilot of the Czechoslovak National Airline (ČSA), but he distrusted the new rulers of his homeland after the Communist Party seized power in 1948, and he feared arrest. On 30 September 1950, Prchal, his wife, their daughter, and six others flew from Prague to RAF Manston in England in a stolen plane.
Unable to find work as a pilot in England, Prchal moved with his family to the United States in 1952. Here, too, he failed to secure a position in either the air force or in the aeronautical industry. Instead, he worked in education in California until he retired in 1978. He died on December 4, 1984 (aged 73) in St. Helena, California, U.S.A
Sources:
1. Royal Air Force Aircraft P1000-P9999 (James J. Halley, Air Britain, 1978 p 18)
2. https://fcafa.com/2012/06/02/hurricane-aircraft-of-310-sqn-and-312-sqn/
3. http://www.nwamuseum.co.uk/WESTESSEXcrashesMishaps3WW2.pdf
4. https://www.battleofbritain1940.net/0030.html
5. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cranham_Hall
6. https://fcafa.com/2012/02/01/eduard-prchal/
7. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eduard_Prchal
8. https://www.bbm.org.uk/airmen/Prchal.htm
9. http://dolnibrezany.cz/slavnostni-odhaleni-pametni-desky-plk-e-m-prchalovi-23-5-2015/gs-1080/p1=4147
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 18-Mar-2008 06:53 | Nepa | Added |
| 28-Dec-2011 14:01 | Nepa | Updated [Time, Operator, Source, Narrative] |
| 21-Feb-2015 19:29 | Froome | Updated [Location, Departure airport, Narrative] |
| 27-May-2019 17:01 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Time, Cn, Operator, Location, Departure airport, Source, Damage, Narrative] |
| 27-May-2019 17:03 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Narrative] |
| 30-May-2019 12:51 | stehlik49 | Updated [Operator, Narrative] |
| 20-Jul-2019 12:10 | Nepa | Updated [Operator, Location, Narrative, Operator] |
| 20-Jul-2021 17:17 | Anon. | Updated [Location, Operator] |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
The Aviation Safety Network is an exclusive service provided by:
Quick Links:
| ASN Home | Send Correction / Feedback |
| FSF Home | Disclaimer | Copyright |
| Contact Us | Privacy Policy |
| Press / Media |
CONNECT WITH US:
©2024 Flight Safety Foundation