Date:	Thursday 25 September 1947
Time:	morning
Type:	Gloster Meteor F Mk III
Owner/operator:	74 (Tiger) Sqn RAF
Registration:	EE353
MSN:
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	Costessey, 4.5 miles SW of RAF Horsham St. Faith, Norwich, Norfolk. -   United Kingdom
Phase:	Approach
Nature:	Military
Departure airport:	RAF Horsham St. Faith, Norwich, Norfolk
Destination airport:	RAF Horsham St. Faith, Norfolk

Narrative:
Gloster Meteor F. III EE353: Delivered to 1335 Conversion Unit, RAF Molesworth, Cambridgeshire 27.7.45 coded '4D-K'. Unit became 226 OCU RAF Bentwaters, Woodbridge, Suffolk, 15.8.46. To 263 Squadron, RAF Acklington, Amble, Northumberland 29.8.46. To 257 Squadron RAF Church Fenton, North Yorkshire by 31.10.46. To 74 (Tiger) Squadron, RAF Horsham St. Faith, Norwich, Norfolk 12.12.46.

Written off (destroyed) 25-9-47 when dived into the ground on asymmetric (single engine) approach to RAF Horsham St. Faith, Norwich, Norfolk. The pilot, who had only joined 74 Squadron a few days before, was carrying out an asymmetric flying practice sortie. He had not attempted to do this before while flying in a Gloster Meteor. Also, the flying training syllabus had not covered this manoeuvre, during his conversion flying training from single engine aircraft to the Meteor

The pilot had throttled back the port engine, flying on the starboard engine only, and had already completed a successful right-hand circuit of RAF Horsham St. Faith. On the final left-hand turn before beginning the approach to land, the pilot lost control, and the Meteor then flicked to port, and dived into the ground at Costessey, 4.5 miles SW of RAF Horsham St. Faith, Norwich, Norfolk.

The "Liverpool Echo" of September 25th 1947 reported the following:

LIVERPOOL AIRMAN KILLED
Flight-Lieut. Ernest Dennis, age 25, son of Mr. and Mrs. E. Dennis, of the Half Way House, Gilead Street, Liverpool, was the pilot and sole occupant of a R.A.F. Meteor plane, flying from Horsham St. Faith aerodrome, Norfolk, which crashed at Costessey, near Norwich, and he was killed. he served in the Middle East, Burma and Java, and re-joined the R.A.F. five weeks ago. He leaves a widow, who live at Rhosneigr, North Wales".

The same newspaper the next day reported the inquest into his death, and that:

"Evidence was given that the plane went a short distance with its wing low and losing height. Coming out of a slow roll, it then went into a dive. As the machine was going down, the nose was pulled up suddenly and it then went over and did three successive rolls before going straight into the ground. The dead man's officer commanding said he was a fully-qualified pilot, but inexperienced in jet-propelled planes".

Crew of Meteor EE353:
Flying Officer (163194) Ernest Joseph Gregory Dennis RAF (pilot, aged 25) - killed on active service 24-9-47, buried at Anfield Cemetery, Liverpool

The subsequent Board of Inquiry discovered that the loss of control was caused by the pilot turning into the 'dead' port engine, and the tendency of the 'live' starboard engine, which was outside of the turn radius, to push the aircraft over

1. L'Echo d'Oran 25 September 1947
2. Liverpool Echo September 25th and 26th 1947
3. Halley, James (1999) Broken Wings – Post-War Royal Air Force Accidents Tunbridge Wells: Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd. ISBN 0-85130-290-4.
4. Final Landings: A Summary of RAF Aircraft and Combat Losses 1946-1949 by Colin Cummings p.338-339
5. 74 Sqn RAF ORB for the period 1-1-1943 to 31-12-1950: National Archives (PRO Kew) File AIR 27/2431: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C2505069
6. Royal Air Force Aircraft EA100-EZ999 (James J Halley, Air Britain)
7. Air Britain Aeromilitaria Summer 2009: https://air-britain.com/pdfs/aeromilitaria/Aeromilitaria_2009.pdf p.73
8. https://www.rafcommands.com/forum/showthread.php?24775-470924-Unaccounted-Airmen-24-09-1947&highlight=DENNIS&p=143691#post143691
9. https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/2411634/ernest-joseph-gregor-dennis/
10. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/32674434/ernest-joseph_gregor-dennis
11. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No._74_Squadron_RAF#Meteors,_Hunters,_and_Lightnings
12. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAF_Horsham_St_Faith#Postwar_Royal_Air_Force_use
13. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Costessey

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
09-Aug-2020 09:22	TB	Added
26-Dec-2020 19:50	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Aircraft type, Registration, Operator, Location, Phase, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative]
27-Dec-2020 11:42	TB	Updated [Operator, Location, Destination airport, Operator]
15-Jun-2023 21:44	Dr. John Smith	Updated [[Operator, Location, Destination airport, Operator]]