Date:	Saturday 30 June 1956
Time:	day
Type:	Gloster Meteor F Mk 8
Owner/operator:	604 (County of Middlesex) Sqn RAF
Registration:	WB105
MSN:	AWA.
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	Matching Green, 5 miles NE of North Weald, Essex -   United Kingdom
Phase:	Landing
Nature:	Military
Departure airport:	RAF North Weald, Essex
Destination airport:	RAF North Weald, Essex
Confidence Rating:	Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources

Narrative:
Gloster Meteor F.Mk.8 WB105: Delivered 16/5/51. RAF service career was with 19 Squadron RAF Church Fenton, North Yorkshire, and 604 (County of Middlesex) Squadron, RAF North Weald, Essex, coded "B" from 17/12/54.

Written off (damaged beyond repair) 30/6/56: A wing hit the ground after hitting a slipstream on approach to North Weald, Essex. Overshot but crashed on second approach after the ailerons jammed, and aircraft dived into the ground at Matching Green, 5 miles North East of North Weald, Essex

According to "The Right of The Line" the newsletter of the 600 (City of London) Squadron association (December 2018 issue):

"The Squadron's final loss occurred on 30th June 1956, when Pilot Officer J.E.Hutchinson's F.8 (WB105/'B') hit his leader's slipstream during the final approach to North Weald. Striking the ground and with its ailerons jammed, Pilot Officer Hutchinson opened the throttles and climbed to 1,500 feet, from where he abandoned the aircraft using the Martin Baker facility before it crashed near Matching Green, Essex"

Crew of Meteor WB105:
P/O ( 3131176) Jonathan Edward HUTCHINSON (pilot) RAF - ejected OK.

The reference to "final loss" refers to the fact that all Royal Auxiliary Air Force Squadrons (including 604 (County of Middlesex) were disbanded due to defence funding cuts on 31/3/57. Thus, the loss of Meteor WB105 was the final loss of an aircraft with this squadron before disbandment

The reported crash location of Matching Green is a village and the largest settlement in the civil parish of Matching, in Essex, England. It is 3.0 miles (4.8 km) east of Harlow, 4.5 miles (7.2 km) northwest of Chipping Ongar and 3.9 miles (6.3 km) south east of Sawbridgeworth.

1. Halley, James (1999) Broken Wings – Post-War Royal Air Force Accidents Tunbridge Wells: Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd. p.181 ISBN 0-85130-290-4.
2. Royal Air Force Aircraft WA100-WZ999 (James J Halley, Air Britain, 1983 p 16)
3. Category Five; A Catalogue of RAF Aircraft Losses 1954 to 2009 by Colin Cummings p.202
4. 604 Squadron ORB (Operational Records Book)(Air Ministry Form AM/F.540) for the period 1/1/55 to 31/3/57: File AIR 27/2712/3 at https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/D8428067
5. http://600squadronassociation.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/The-Right-of-The-Line-Dec-2018-141218.pdf
6. http://www.ukserials.com/losses-1956.htm
7. http://nwamuseum.co.uk/IncidentsWestEssexto2000-1.pdf
8. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matching_Green

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
31-May-2008 20:53	JINX	Added
10-Jan-2012 14:27	Nepa	Updated [Aircraft type, Operator, Destination airport, Source, Narrative]
22-Jun-2020 16:50	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Time, Aircraft type, Cn, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative]