ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 225540
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| Date: | Tuesday 29 October 1940 |
| Time: | |
| Type: |  Hawker Hurricane Mk I |
| Owner/operator: | 257 (Burma) Sqn RAF |
| Registration: | V6852 |
| MSN: | DT-F |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | RAF North Weald, Essex, England -
 United Kingdom
|
| Phase: | Take off |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | RAF North Weald, Essex |
Hurricane V6852/F: On Tuesday October 29 at 16:40 hrs, RAF North Weald was attacked by the enemy using a new tactic. Messerschmitt Bf 109 single seat fighters of 11(5) LG.2 zoomed in at low level, each carrying a single bomb, to attack machines on the ground.
Although warned, the Hurricane's of 257 Squadron were caught at the point of take off by the fleeting enemy attack. A flight of three machines, V6852 flown by Sergeant Alexander G Girdwood, only recently returned to operations after being wounded, P3893 flown by Polish Pilot Officer Franik Surma, and a third machine flown by the ace Robert Stanford-Tuck, were blasted by a bomb as they reached flight speed. Stanford-Tuck's machine survived the explosion virtually unscathed: the other two Hurricanes were not so lucky.
Girdwood's aircraft (V6852) took the brunt of the blast, crashing instantly into the ground and killing the pilot. He could not be rescued from the aircraft because of exploding ammunition and he burned to death in the cockpit. Surma's aircraft (P3893) was severely damaged. Fortunately the Hurricane was coaxed into the air as Surma struggled for sufficient height prior to abandoning it
Crew:
F/Sgt (741908) Alexander George GIRDWOOD (pilot) RAFVR - killed
Sources:
1. Royal Air Force Aircraft P1000-P9999 (James J Halley, Air Britain, 1978 p 46)
2. http://www.nwamuseum.co.uk/WESTESSEXcrashesMishaps3WW2.pdf
3. https://battleofbritain1940.com/entry/tuesday-29-october-1940/
4. https://www.essexinfo.net/mblpc/assets/documents/alleluya-june-july-2016
5. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/126052711/alexander-george-girdwood
6. http://www.bbm.org.uk/airmen/Girdwood.htm
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 28-May-2019 00:39 | Dr. John Smith | Added |
| 30-May-2019 12:43 | stehlik49 | Updated [Operator] |
| 21-Jul-2022 12:42 | Nepa | Updated [Time, Aircraft type, Operator, Location, Source, Narrative, Operator] |
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