Date:	Monday 3 February 1947
Time:	day
Type:	North American Harvard Mk II
Owner/operator:	EFS RAF
Registration:	FT137
MSN:	14A-1177
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 2
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	2 miles south of Wotton-under-Edge, Gloucestershire, England -   United Kingdom
Phase:	En route
Nature:	Training
Departure airport:	RAF Hullavington, Chippenham, Wiltshire
Destination airport:	RAF Hullavington, Wiltshire
Confidence Rating:	Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources

Narrative:
ex-USAAF 43-12878 (MSN 14A-1177) Delivered to RAF as Harvard IIb FT137. Empire Central Flying School, RAF
RAF Hullavington, Chippenham, Wiltshire June 1944. The unit was renamed the Empire Flying School on 7 May 1946.

Written off (destroyed) 3 February,1947 when control lost whilst in cloud, went into an unrecoverable spin and crashed 2 miles south of Wotton-under-Edge, Gloucestershire. The cause of the spin and loss of control was never determined.

Crew:
Flt/Lt (128485) Gerald Norman Edgar YEATES DFC & Bar (pilot) RAF - killed
Major (P/102646V) Kenneth Weeks DRIVER DFC (pilot) SAAF - killed

R.I.P. Both men are buried in Haycombe Cemetery, Bath, Somerset. The CWGC (Commonwealth War Graves Commission) records have Flight Lt Yeates as being a member of 248 Squadron, RAF. Major K W Driver was the second highest scoring SAAF ace with 10 victories to his credit in East and North Africa in 1940-41, before being shot down, captured and taken as PoW.

1. Halley, James (1999). Broken Wings – Post-War Royal Air Force Accidents. Tunbridge Wells: Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd. p.59. ISBN 0-85130-290-4.
2. Royal Air Force Aircraft FA100-FZ999 (James J Halley, Air Britain)
3. The Harvard File (John F Hamlin, Air Britain, 1988, p 97)
4. National Archives (PRO Kew) File AVIA 5/29/W2370: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C6578216
5. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2691804/yeates,-gerald-norman-edgar/
6. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2691580/driver,-kenneth-weeks/
7. http://www.joebaugher.com/usaf_serials/1943_2.html
8. Empire Flying School RAF ORB for the period 1-8-1944 to 30-09-1947: National Archives (PRO Kew) File AIR20/1353: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C1219686
9. Empire Central Flying School RAF ORB for the period 1-4-1942 to 31-5-1949: National Archives (PRO Kew) File AIR29/628: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C4100337
10. http://www.rafcommands.com/forum/showthread.php?23775-470203-Unaccounted-Airmen-03-02-1947&p=137969#post137969
11. https://www.pprune.org/aviation-history-nostalgia/419261-tracing-back-wwii-raf-pilot-3.html#post5814304
12. https://saafww2pilots3.yolasite.com/ken-driver-photographs.php
13. https://www.aviation-links.co.uk/Gloucestershire%20Aircraft%20Accidents.pdf
14. https://www.geni.com/people/Maj-Kenneth-Driver/6000000007884491462
15. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenneth_Driver
16. https://www.rafcommands.com/database/wardead/details.php?qnum=12565
17. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/54353642/kenneth-weeks-driver
18. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/54567869/gerald-norman_edgar-yeates
19. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wotton-under-Edge

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
29-Dec-2013 08:37	angels one five	Added
29-Dec-2013 08:39	angels one five	Updated [Narrative]
29-Dec-2013 10:51	angels one five	Updated [Other fatalities]
01-Jun-2018 13:10	A.J. Scholten	Updated [Cn, Source]
29-Nov-2018 09:36	Nepa	Updated [Operator, Departure airport, Narrative, Operator]
19-Nov-2019 01:26	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Time, Operator, Location, Phase, Source, Narrative]
24-Nov-2019 00:43	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Operator, Location, Source, Narrative]
27-Nov-2019 11:59	Nepa	Updated [Operator, Narrative, Operator]
14-Apr-2020 09:54	INV	Updated [Location, Narrative, Operator]
16-Nov-2020 03:34	angels one five	Updated [Narrative]
21-May-2023 21:17	Dr. John Smith	Updated [[Narrative]]