Date:	Monday 16 November 1953
Time:	dusk
Type:	De Havilland DH.82A Tiger Moth
Owner/operator:	Henlow SF RAF
Registration:	DE222
MSN:	85279
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	Great Barford, Bedfordshire, England -   United Kingdom
Phase:	Approach
Nature:	Military
Departure airport:	RAF Henlow, Bedfordshire
Destination airport:	RAF Henlow, Bedfordshire
Confidence Rating:	Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources

Narrative:
De Havilland DH.82A Tiger Moth MSN 85279; Taken on charge as DE222 at 33 MU RAF Lyneham, Wiltshire 2.1.42. To 10 EFTS RAF Stoke Orchard 11.2.42. To 21 EFTS RAF Booker, High Wycombe, Buckinghshire 3.7.42. To 33 MU RAF Lyneham, Wiltshire 10.9.46 for lojng-term storage. To 16 RFS RAF Burnaston, Derbyshire 24.1.50, coded “14”. To RAF Henlow, Bedfordshire 27.9.51 for use by the Station Flight

Written off (damaged beyond repair) 16.11.53 when crashed at Great Barford, Bedfordshire. Upon conclusion of a flying training sortie from RAF Henlow, Bedfordshire, at dusk, the pilot found that he could not get a definte "fix" on his position in the fading light. He therefore decided to make a precautionary landing in the area he was flying over (Great Barford, Bedfordshire).

Whilst turning onto the final approach to the field that he had selected for landing, he was compelled to tighten the turn for the approach more than he had planned, to avoid an obstacle in the way. This last-minute manouevre caused a severe drop in airspeed, and the Tiger Moth stalled, lost lift, and crashed into a field at Great Barford, Bedfordshire

Wreckage recovered to RAF Henlow, where Struck off Charge as Cat.5(scrap) 1.12.53.

The reported crash location of Great Barford is a village and civil parish in Bedfordshire, England, a few miles north-east of Bedford. It lies on the River Great Ouse at grid reference TL129523 (at approximate co ordinates 52.158°N 0.353°W)

1. Halley, James (1999) Broken Wings – Post-War Royal Air Force Accidents Tunbridge Wells: Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd. p. 152 ISBN 0-85130-290-4.
2. Last Take-off: A Record of RAF Aircraft Losses 1950 to 1953 by Colin Cummings p 429
3. Royal Air Force Aircraft DE100-DZ999 (James J Halley, Air Britain, 1987 p.10)
4. http://www.airhistory.org.uk/dh/p852.html
5. https://air-britain.com/pdfs/production-lists/DH82.pdf
6. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Barford

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
22-May-2021 23:02	Dr. John Smith	Added
17-Jun-2021 21:11	Anon.	Updated [Operator, Location, Operator]
10-Oct-2021 23:31	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Operator, Source, Narrative, Category]
10-Oct-2021 23:34	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Source]
13-Oct-2021 09:30	Nepa	Updated [Operator, Operator]