Date:	Monday 27 June 1955
Time:	day
Type:	Boulton Paul Balliol T Mk 2
Owner/operator:	238 OCU RAF
Registration:	WN171
MSN:	BPA.14C
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	RAF Wattisham, Suffolk, England -   United Kingdom
Phase:	Take off
Nature:	Training
Departure airport:	RAF Wattisham, Suffolk
Destination airport:	RAF North Luffenham, Rutland
Confidence Rating:	Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources

Narrative:
Boulton Paul Balliol T.Mk.2 WN171: Delivered 26/4/54. RAF service career was with 238 OCU RAF North Luffenham, Rutland only. The task of the Balliols with 238 OCU was to act as "targets" for trainee A.I. (Airborne Interception) radar operators, flying Bristol Brigands with the Basic Flying Wing of 238 OCU in blacked out cockpits. The Balliol would take off from RAF North Luffenham or RAF Wattisham, and the pursuing Brigand would then be tasked with locating it. At least three Balliols - WN162, WN171 and WN517 were written off while with 238 OCU.

Written off (damaged beyond repair) 27/6/55: The pilot of Balliol WN171 was unable to raise the aircraft's tail during the take off run from RAF Wattisham, Suffolk, and took off with the aircraft in a "three point" attitude. To overcome the problem, the pilot of Balliol WN171 retracted the undercarriage and made a forced belly landing at RAF Wattisham. The pilot - Flying Officer Peter Botterill - was unhurt

Balliol T.Mk.2 WN171 was the last production aircraft of a batch of 136 aircraft planned against Contract 6/Acft/6251 as WN132-WN181, WN196-WN234 and WN255-WN303. However, production was terminated at WN171, the 40th aircraft of this production run

1. Halley, James (1999) Broken Wings – Post-War Royal Air Force Accidents Tunbridge Wells: Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd. p.167 ISBN 0-85130-290-4.
2. Royal Air Force Aircraft WA100-WZ999 (James J Halley, Air Britain, 1983 p 80)
3. Category Five; A Catalogue of RAF Aircraft Losses 1954 to 2009 by Colin Cummings p.141
4. The Boulton Paul Balliol: The Last Merlin-Powered Aircraft By Alec Brew
5. http://www.ukserials.com/results.php?serial=WN

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
22-May-2020 19:10	Dr. John Smith	Added
22-May-2020 20:44	MIG29	Updated [Operator, Location, Nature, Operator]