ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 1844
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| Date: | Sunday 28 March 1943 |
| Time: | |
| Type: |  Supermarine Spitfire Mk I |
| Owner/operator: | 53 OTU RAF |
| Registration: | K9862 |
| MSN: | 80 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | Pont-yn-Awel Farm, Glamorganshire -
 United Kingdom
|
| Phase: | Manoeuvring (airshow, firefighting, ag.ops.) |
| Nature: | Training |
| Departure airport: | RAF Llandow |
| Return. |
Collided with K9850 & crashed.
Both pilots were killed.
Pilot:
P/O (137455) Graeham William Berry RAFVR - killed.
R.I.P.
K9862 First flew on the 9th of February 1939 (21 days after K9850). Her first squadron was to be No.74 arriving on the 13th of February. The squadron was in the process of converting from the Gloster Gauntlet to the Spitfire I’s, K9862 was one of the first to arrive. Over the following months she acquired a regular pilot, F/O Hoare. Even so some of the other pilots to fly K9862 included the likes of P/O Dowding and P/O Mungo-Park.
She went U/S at the beginning of May, which required a complete engine change, this completed, her regular pilot took her for an engine flight test on the 14th of May then he had a period of leave. Another pilot, P/O Ritchie was slated to fly on an operational patrol on the 15th, when he was taxying in K9862 he struck another Spitfire! Putting K9862 U/S again. The findings for this accident saw Ritchie posted away from 74 squadron. K9862 was taken by road to No.1 CRU (Civilian Repair Unit) on the 20th of May resulting in her missing the Dunkirk Evacuation. Operation Dynamo saw 74 squadron seeing combat for the first time of WW2 and exacted a heavy toll on both pilots and aircraft. Her regular pilot, F/O Hoare did not return from one of the operations over the evacuation and posted as missing on the 24th of May. He was one of five reported as missing. However happily two returned to the squadron after successfully getting off the beaches by boat.
After repair, her next posting was to No.64 squadron on the 19th of August 1940. In April 1940 the squadron converted to the MkI Spitfire. It was immediately engaged in the covering of the Dunkirk Evacuation and later took part in the Battle of Britain. In short order 64 squadron operated from Kenley starting 16 May 1940, from Leconfield starting 19 August, from Biggin Hill starting 13 October, from Coltishall starting 15 October, and from Boscombe Down starting 1 September 1940. Such was the pressure of the Battle; the squadron records contain only the bare information such as ‘7 aircraft up at 12:00 hrs. 7 aircraft down’. Then the daily records only show the date, the time, what Spitfire and who was the pilot. However, K9862 did fly on numerous occasions during the Battle and afterwards to the demise of the year.
With the addition of the Spitfire II’s and V’s, K9862 was finally allocated to training duties, her first was with 57 OTU on the 3rd of February 1941. Her luck still had not changed, on the 5th of March she suffered an accident on the delivery flight to 53 OTU. After repair she came back to 57 on the 24th of July. There followed a year without mishap then, this time, she came to 53 OTU, arriving at RAF Llandow on the 22nd of August 1942, slightly over a month after her stablemate K9850.
On this day 80 years ago, K9862 & K9850 were under the control of P/O Berry & F/O Fenton respectively and they were tasked to conduct formation practice. They were just north of St Athan when they touched. Neither could control their aircraft and both plummeted to the ground, K9850 came down in fields belonging to Flemingston Court farm, while K9862 crashed into the ground belonging to Pant-yn-Awel farm. Both farms are located to the north of the village of St Athan, just away east of the Cowbridge road. Both almost the same distance from said road. Both pilots Berry and Fenton were killed in the collision.
Crew:
P/O Graham William Berry 25yo 137455 RAFVR. Pilot. 2
Son of William John and Lilian Augusta Berry of Lee.
Buried:
Eltham Cemetery Woolwich. Section H. Grave 817.
Wreckage:
Not known. On PRIVATE farmland.
Additional Information:
P/O D H T Dowding was the son of
Air Chief Marshal Hugh Caswell Tremenheere Dowding GCB, GCVO, CMG.
Derek Hugh Tremenheere Dowding was born on 9th January 1919, the son of Group Captain HCT Dowding, later Air Chief Marshal Lord Dowding. He was educated at Winchester College and entered RAF College, Cranwell as a Flight Cadet in September 1937. On graduation in July 1939, Dowding was commissioned and posted to 74 Squadron at Hornchurch. The squadron flew over France from the 20th of May 1940. On the 24th Dowding destroyed a Do17, shared another and probably destroyed a Ju88, on the 23rd he shared a Do17 and on the 27th damaged a Do17 after chasing it for 20 miles before being forced to break off by intense anti-aircraft fire. On the 6th of July 1940 Dowding probably destroyed a He111 and two days later he shared in the destruction of another. He was posted away to 6 OTU Sutton Bridge on the 8th of August to be an instructor.
He was still instructing in 1941 but became a Flight Commander with 135 Squadron later in the year. He served as a test pilot in the Middle East from 1942 to 1945 and held a number of appointments and commands before retiring on the 17th of November 1956 as a Wing Commander. Dowding died on 22nd November 1992.
P/O John Colin Mungo-Park was born in Wallasey, Cheshire on the 25th of March 1918, the son of Colin Archibald Mungo Park and Marion Park (née Haswell). He was a direct descendant of the African explorer Mungo Park (1771-1806). Mungo-Park's father served in WW1 with the 7th Battalion of the Royal Sussex Regiment. He was killed in action on the 24th of October 1918. He is buried in the Valenciennes (St. Roch) Military Cemetery. JC Mungo-Park was educated at Liverpool College, boarding at School House, on leaving he was employed by a cotton broker. Mungo-Park joined the RAF on a short service commission in June 1937. He was posted to 10 FTS Tern Hill on the 21st of August, went to the AACU at Lee-on-Solent on the 26th of March 1938 and then to the Fleet Requirements Unit, HMS Argus on the 22nd of August 1938.
Mungo-Park joined 74 Squadron at Hornchurch on the 4th of September 1939. Over Dunkirk on the 24th of May 1940, he shared a Hs126. On the 10th of July Mungo-Park claimed a Do17 destroyed, on the 11th, a Me110 and a Me109 destroyed and another of each probably destroyed, on the 13th of August a probable Do17, 11th September, a He111 destroyed and a Ju88 damaged and on the 14th, a Me110 probably destroyed. Mungo-Park then shot down a Me109 on the 20th of October, got a probable Me109 on the 22nd, damaged two more on the 27th and 28th, destroyed two Me109s on the 29th, damaged another on 2nd November. He shot down two Ju87s on the 14th and shared a Me109 on the 30th, Biggin Hill's 600th victory. He was awarded the DFC (gazetted 15th November 1940). As an Acting Flight Lieutenant, he had been commanding 'A' Flight from the 8th of September.
Mungo-Park took command of 74 Squadron on the 10th of March 1941 when Sailor Malan was posted away. He was attacked by six Me109s over the French coast on the 16th of June and shot down two but his Spitfire's glycol system was damaged and after his engine seized he glided back across the coast and made a crash-landing near Hawkinge. On a sweep over France on the 27th of June 1941 Mungo-Park was shot down in Spitfire Vb X4668 ‘E’ and killed. He is buried in Adinkerke Military Cemetery, Belgium.
Sources:
Spitfire production list
RAF Casualties-1943
CWGC
www.rafcommands.com
www.airhistory.org.uk/spitfire/production.html
www.yorkshireaircraft.co.uk
www.discoverynationalarchives.gov.uk
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 11-Feb-2008 11:15 | JINX | Added |
| 28-Dec-2011 07:05 | Nepa | Updated [Aircraft type, Operator, Departure airport] |
| 28-Dec-2011 07:06 | Nepa | Updated [Phase, Source] |
| 28-Nov-2012 18:29 | angels one five | Updated [Aircraft type, Phase, Nature, Departure airport, Source, Narrative] |
| 11-Sep-2013 07:05 | angels one five | Updated [Operator, Source, Narrative] |
| 16-Jul-2015 20:13 | Angel dick one | Updated [Operator, Source, Narrative] |
| 09-Aug-2019 11:27 | angels one five | Updated [Narrative] |
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