Date:	Friday 15 August 1952
Time:	day
Type:	North American AT-16 Harvard T.2B
Owner/operator:	3 FTS RAF
Registration:	FT336
MSN:	14A-1376
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	RAF Feltwell, Thetford, Norfolk, England -   United Kingdom
Phase:	Manoeuvring (airshow, firefighting, ag.ops.)
Nature:	Training
Departure airport:	RAF Feltwell, Thetford, Norfolk
Destination airport:	RAF Feltwell, Norfolk
Confidence Rating:	Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources

Narrative:
NA Harvard ex-USAAF 43-13077 (MSN 14A-1376): Delivered to RAF as Harvard IIb FT336. To No 9 (Pilot) Advanced Flying Unit, Errol, Perthshire, Scotland October 1944. To No 5 (Pilot) Advanced Flying Unit, Ternhill, Shropshire June 1945 as "B-W". To No 3 (Pilot) Advanced Flying Unit December 1945. To No 3 Service Flying Training School, South Cerney, Gloucestershire March 1946. To 22 Service Flying Training School, Ouston, Northumberland January 1947 as "FCI-J". To No 22 Flying Training School, Syerston, Nottinghamshire February 1949. To No 3 Flying Training School, Feltwell, Norfolk March 1950 as "FBT-Y"

Written off (destroyed) when collided with Harvard KF372 (MSN 14A-2072) during formation aerobatics at Feltwell, Norfolk 15 August 1952. Harvard FT336 was the number two aircraft in a three-aircraft formation, and collided with the number three aircraft (KF372) while carrying out a slow roll. The pilot of Harvard FT336 was killed

Crew of Harvard FT336:
Flight Lieutenant Eric MARTIN DFC (pilot) RAF - killed on duty 15/8/1952

As reported in The Times - 18th August 1952:

CRASH DURING AEROBATIC PRACTICE
INQUEST ON FLYING INSTRUCTOR
A verdict of Accidental Death was returned at an inquest at Feltwell, Norfolk, on Saturday on Flight Lieutenant Eric Martin, aged 31, a flying instructor of No. 3 Flying Training School, R.A.F., Feltwell, who was killed when his aircraft dived into an airfield on Friday after a collision with another aircraft.

Flight Lieutenant Edwin Warren Adams said, he was leading a formation acrobatic team of three Harvard aircraft practising for a Battle of Britain display in September. On completing the practice he led the formation in for a break-up and on approaching the airfield gave orders for this by radio telephone. He carried out a slow roll after turning through 30deg. and on looking round for the rest of his formation saw some wreckage on the airfield. “I cannot see any logical reason why it should have happened, he said. “As far as we were concerned every eventuality had been covered.”

Flight Lieutenant Erazn Wardzinski, aged 32, said that Adams and Martin were flying in echelon formation to port, Adams in front, Martin behind and to the left, and he (witness) behind and to the left again. “Just before I reached a level position I felt an impact and my aircraft dropped a wing to the right,” he said. “I lost control for a moment, then thought of baling out, but on regaining control I found the aircraft responded “ Wardzinski said he swerved to the right and on looking down saw an aircraft going down vertically with no tail unit attached. He was able to land his damaged aircraft.

Flight Lieutenant William George Wallace, the air traffic controller, who watched the aircraft, said that in his opinion the cause of the accident was Martin’s failure to carry out a 15-degree turn to the right that he (witness) had heard ordered by the leader."

The other Harvard involved (KF372) managed to make a safe emergency landing back at RAF Feltwell. (It was repaired and returned to service which continued until March 1955. KF372 was finally Struck Off Charge on 31 May 1957).

1. Halley, James (1999) Broken Wings – Post-War Royal Air Force Accidents Tunbridge Wells: Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd. p.129 ISBN 0-85130-290-4.
2. The Harvard File (John F Hamlin, Air Britain, 1988 p. 101)
3. Last Take Off; A Catalogue of RAF Aircraft Losses 1950 to 1953 by Colin Cummings p.279
4. The Times (London) -18th August 1952:
5. http://www.joebaugher.com/usaf_serials/1943_2.html
6. https://www.pprune.org/military-aviation/378124-eric-martin-dfc-3-fts-feltwell-1952-a.html
7. http://www.rafcommands.com/database/awards/details.php?qnum=122086&qname=MARTIN .

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
19-Mar-2021 23:56	Dr. John Smith	Added
19-Mar-2021 23:58	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Source, Narrative]
20-Mar-2021 09:29	werich	Updated [Operator, Location, Nature, Destination airport, Narrative, Operator]