Date:	Friday 7 November 1952
Time:	day
Type:	Gloster Meteor T Mk 7
Owner/operator:	504 (County of Nottingham) Sqn RAF
Registration:	WF823
MSN:
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 2
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	near Little Bytham, 8 mile ENE of Cottesmore, Rutland -   United Kingdom
Phase:	Manoeuvring (airshow, firefighting, ag.ops.)
Nature:	Military
Departure airport:	RAF Syerston, Nottinghamshire
Destination airport:
Confidence Rating:	Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources

Narrative:
Gloster Meteor T.Mk.7 WF823, 504 (County of Nottingham) Squadron, RAF: Written off (destroyed) 7/11/52 when crashed at near Little Bytham, 8 miles East North-East of Cottesmore, Rutland. Both persons on board were killed.

The aircraft was flying at 3,000 feet, straight and level, when the canopy opened and jammed open. The Meteor then went into an uncontrolled descending turn to starboard, and flew into the ground.

Crew of Meteor WF823
Flight Lieutenant (57652) William Ian Hart, RAF (pilot, aged 26)
Mr. C. Brown (passenger, Air Ministry Civilian Auditor)

Note that while most published sources give the crash location as "8 mile East North East of Cottesmore, Rutland", the official file at the National Archives Kew (see link #4) gives the crash location at "near Little Bytham, Lincolnshire". Another published source (see link #7) give the crash location as "Swinstead, Lincolnshire" which is 3.3 miles further north. WF823 certainly seems to have crashed on the Rutland/Lincolnshire border.

1. Halley, James (1999) Broken Wings – Post-War Royal Air Force Accidents Tunbridge Wells: Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd. p. 137 ISBN 0-85130-290-4.
2. Last Take-off: A Record of RAF Aircraft Losses 1950 to 1953 by Colin Cummings p 307
3. Royal Air Force Aircraft WA100-WZ999 (James J Halley, Air Britain, 1983 p 40)
4. National Archives (PRO Kew) File BT233/122: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C424243
5. 504 (County of Nottingham) Squadron RAF, Operational Record Book (Air Ministry Form AM/F.540) for the period 1/1/1951 to 31/3/1957: National Archvies (PRO Kew) File AIR 27/2710 at https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C2505348
6. http://www.ukserials.com/results.php?serial=WA
7. http://www.planetrace.co.uk/1950-1959_26.html
8. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Bytham
9. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swinstead

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
07-Jun-2008 03:47	JINX	Added
26-May-2013 18:03	Nepa	Updated [Aircraft type, Operator, Phase, Source]
31-Dec-2019 20:54	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Time, Aircraft type, Location, Departure airport, Source, Narrative]
29-Mar-2021 17:45	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Source, Narrative]