ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 207125
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| Date: | Friday 14 April 1939 |
| Time: | 10:40 LT |
| Type: | Hawker Hart |
| Owner/operator: | 16 E&RFTS RAF |
| Registration: | K4431 |
| MSN: | |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | Streat Hill Farm, near Plumpton, 7 miles East of Lewes, Sussex -
 United Kingdom
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Training |
| Departure airport: | Shoreham Airport, Shoreham, West Sussex |
| Gravesend Airport, Gravesend, Kent | |
| Confidence Rating: |  Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources |
Hawker Hart K4431, 16 E&RFTS, Shoreham: Written off (destroyed) 14/4/39 when flew into hill in cloud, Streat Hill Farm, near Plumpton, seven miles east of Lewes, Sussex. Pilot - Sgt George William Read (RAFVR, aged 21) - was killed. According to a contemporary newspaper report ("Kent & Sussex Courier" - Friday 21 April 1939):
"TUNBRIDGE WELLS PILOT'S TRAGIC DEATH.
FLYING FOR HIS COUNTRY, SAYS CORONER.
CRASHED IN DENSE MIST ON SUSSEX DOWNS.
Sgt.-Pllot George William Read, the 21-year-old son of Mr. and Mrs. A. B. H. Read, 20, Court-road, Tunbridge Wells, was burned to death on Friday when an aeroplane, of which he was the only occupant, crashed in a dense mist on the Sussex Downs at Streat, near Lewes, and burst into flames. He was a member of the R.A.F. Volunteer Reserve, and was attached to No. 16 Elementary and Reserve Training School, Shoreham Airport.
The crash occurred at Streat Hill Farm, the residence of Sir Stephen Demetriadi. After striking the ground, the aeroplane, a Hawker-Fury training machine, overturned and the pilot was trapped in the cockpit. The pilot was burned beyond recognition, and the only clue to his identity was a charred envelope bearing his name and address, which was found on the body.
Efforts which were made to prevent the machine from returning to Shoreham from Gravesend on account of weather conditions were described to the East Sussex Coroner (Dr. E. F. Hoare) at the inquest at Plumpton on Saturday, when a verdict of accidental death was returned.
William Eric Warr Grieve, chief instructor at the training school, said that Read and two other machines left Shoreham for Gravesend at 10.35 a.m. on Friday in fine weather. They reached their destination, and in the meantime, as the weather became threatening and there were low clouds, officials at Shoreham telephoned to Gravesend to try to stop them returning, but the three machines had already left. Read had had nearly 200 hours' flying experience, and was a fully-qualifled sergeant-pilot.
Clifford Stanley Strong, of Hassocks, said he and others were in a barn when they heard an aeroplane pass overhead at what seemed to be a low altitude. They went outside, heard a loud explosion, and then the engine stopped. Owing to bad visibility they could not see where it had landed. They searched the Downs, and finally located the machine by the sound of the burning bodywork.
Sergt.-Pilot G. C. Bennett, a bank clerk in the R.A.F. Volunteer Reserves, who was flying one of the other machines, said it was fine when they left Gravesend, but further along their route rain began to fall. When they came to the Downs he could see only the base of the hills as the top was covered by a white cloud. Read was then flying on witness's left, and the other machine was over on the right. After entering a cloud he lost sight of the other machines. When he came out of the cloud he did not expect to see any more of the others until he reached Shoreham, because it was a natural manoeuvre for them to disperse in the cloud in order to avoid collision. Sergeant Bennett said he was flying at about 1,000ft. above sea level, giving a clearance of between 300 ft. and 400 ft. above the hills. It was probable that Read turned away and tried to get out of the cloud the way he had entered it. So far as witness could tell, there was nothing wrong with the engine.
P.C. H. Collins, of Plumpton, said that when he arrived on the scene the smouldering machine was on its back, and the pilot was underneath. Evidence of identification was given by the dead pilot's father. Mr. Read said he last saw his son alive on Good Friday. He was a bank clerk, and lived at 30, Norton-road, Hove. He had been flying for about 18 months.
The Coroner expressed the view that the pilot was probably unconscious before his machine caught fire. The machine had only about 300 ft. to spare before it crashed, and the pilot might have lost his sense of direction and come down. Expressing sympathy with the father, the Coroner remarked that the three airmen were not flying for their own gratification, but for the sake of their country."
Sources:
1. Royal Air Force Aircraft K1000-K9999 (James J. Halley, Air Britain, 1976 page 33)
2. Kent & Sussex Courier - Friday 21 April 1939
3. http://www.rcawsey.co.uk/Acc1939.htm
4. http://sussexhistoryforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=5288.0;wap2
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 06-Mar-2018 22:40 | Dr. John Smith | Added |
| 06-Mar-2018 22:45 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Time, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source] |
| 26-Mar-2018 19:13 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Date] |
| 26-Mar-2018 23:23 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Narrative] |
| 20-Nov-2018 15:08 | Nepa | Updated [Operator, Nature, Operator] |
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