ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 205577
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| Date: | Monday 23 August 1937 |
| Time: | day |
| Type: | BA Swallow 2 |
| Owner/operator: | Midland Bank Flying Club |
| Registration: | G-AEWH |
| MSN: | 477 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | Queen Mary Reservoir, Littleton, near Shepperton, Middlesex -
 United Kingdom
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Private |
| Departure airport: | Hanworth Aerodrome, Hanworth, Middlesex |
| Hanworth Aerodrome, Hanworth, Middlesex | |
| Confidence Rating: |  Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources |
First registered [C of R 7767] on 24.3.37 as G-AEWH to the Midland Bank Flying Club, London EC.2 (aircraft based at Hanworth Aerodrome, Hanworth, Middlesex). C of A 5852 issued April 1937.
Written off (damaged beyond repair) 23.8.37 when ditched into the Queen Mary Reservoir, Littleton, near Shepperton, Middlesex due to engine failure while on a flight to and from Hanworth Aerodrome, Hanworth, Middlesex. Pilot (sole person on board) was Herbert Mason Willis (aged 29) who was killed (death by drowning). The crash set about a recovery mission which took a week to find Willis’s body along with the rest of the wreckage. According to one source (see link #5)
"The one which crashed into Queen Mary Reservoir (BA ‘Swallow’ G-AEWH – 23rd Aug 1937)
Herbert Willis, 29, was killed when he ditched his machine into Queen Mary Reservoir, near Shepperton. The airplane was a two-seater BA Swallow which was owned by the Midland Bank Flying Club. Willis, who lived in Carshalton, could well have been an employee of the bank. The plane nose-dived into the reservoir and exploded, with fragments of the wing and rudder scattered over the water. Neighbours who jumped into the water to help, could find no trace of the pilot amidst the floating wreckage, and it was assumed that he had drowned. It was eventually decided to drain the reservoir, which was believed to be the biggest in the world at the time, but there are no records of whether this happened or what was found".
Registration G-AEWH cancelled by the Air Ministry 8.12.37 due to "destruction or permanent withdrawl from use of aircraft"
Sources:
1. https://www.afleetingpeace.org/index.php/page-gb-registers-g-ae
2. https://cwsprduksumbraco.blob.core.windows.net/g-info/HistoricalLedger/G-AEWH.pdf
3. http://www.airhistory.org.uk/gy/reg_G-A10.html
4. http://www.rcawsey.co.uk/Acc1937.htm
5. https://habitatsandheritage.org.uk/blog/air-crashes-at-hanworth-aerodrome/
6. Photo of wreckage: https://www.agefotostock.com/age/en/Stock-Images/Rights-Managed/MEV-12079561
7. https://kemptonsteam.org/history/queen-mary-reservoir/
8. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queen_Mary_Reservoir
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 03-Feb-2018 18:27 | Dr. John Smith | Added |
| 03-Feb-2018 18:29 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Destination airport] |
| 05-Mar-2018 16:39 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Date, Narrative] |
| 10-Mar-2020 22:34 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Source] |
| 18-Nov-2022 17:44 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Source, Narrative, Category] |
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