Date:	Friday 24 May 1940
Time:	11:40
Type:	Fairey Battle Mk I
Owner/operator:	12 OTU RAF
Registration:	K9481
MSN:
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 3 / Occupants: 3
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	Fire Beacon Hill, Bowd Croft, near Sidmouth, Devon, England -   United Kingdom
Phase:	En route
Nature:	Military
Departure airport:	RAF Benson, Oxfordshire
Destination airport:	RAF Benson, Oxfordshire

Narrative:
Fairey Battle Mk.I K9481, 12 OTU, RAF: Written off (destroyed) when flew into the ground at Fire Beacon Hill, Bowd Croft, near Sidmouth, Devon on 24 May 1940. Aircraft was one of two Fairey Battles on a navex from RAF Benson, Oxfordshire (K9481 and L4977). Took off at 11:40 hrs from RAF Benson, Oxfordshire, on a navex routed Benson - Frome - Tiverton - Holsworthy - Exeter - Lyme Regis -Frome - Benson. All three crew on board were killed. According to the official Air Ministry file on the incident (File AIR 818/527): "Aircraftman 2nd Class A W A Coull, Sergeant E Wigham and Pilot Officer W D Finlayson: report of deaths. Battle K9481, 24 May 1940"

Crew of Battle K9481:
Pilot: Pilot Officer William David Finlayson (RAF 36268, aged 25) Killed (Born in New Zealand)
Observer: Sgt Ernest Wigham (RAF 580852, aged 23) Killed
Wireless Op/Air Gunner: AC.2 Angus William Adams Coull (RAF 552518, aged 18) Killed

Battle K9481 crashed twenty minutes after L4977 Both crashed into Fire Beacon Hill, Bowd Croft, near Sidmouth, Devon, in low cloud. Both pilots had been told to maintain radio silence during the exercise. Four out of the six airmen killed are buried in Ford Park Cemetery Plymouth. That four included all three crew members of Battle L4977, and P/O Finlayson, the pilot of Battle K9481.

Sgt Ernest Wigham is buried in Darlington West Cemetery, Darlington, County Durham, and AC.2 Coull in Stonehaven Scotland

1. Royal Air Force Aircraft K1000-K9999 (James J. Halley, Air Britain, 1976 p 78
2. The Battle File (Sidney Shail, Air Britain, 1997 p 138)
3. National Archives (PRO Kew) File AIR 81/527): https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C14502148
4. http://www.epibreren.com/ww2/raf/12_OTU.html#2405
5. https://35squadron.wordpress.com/training-squadron/
6. http://aircrewremembered.com/finlayson-william-david.html
7. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2811158/finlayson,-william-david/
8. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2837929/wigham,-ernest/
9. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2927187/coull,-angus-william-adams/ .

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
19-Nov-2009 12:24	jarwood	Added
30-Aug-2012 03:11	nicko	Updated [Source, Embed code, Narrative]
14-Jul-2014 20:14	Anon.	Updated [Embed code, Narrative]
09-Jan-2015 22:13	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Operator, Location, Country, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Embed code, Narrative]
06-Jun-2015 10:31	Jixn	Updated [Operator]
11-Aug-2019 00:02	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Aircraft type, Operator, Source, Narrative]
11-Aug-2019 00:03	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Source, Narrative]
15-Aug-2019 09:01	stehlik49	Updated [Operator]
28-Jul-2023 09:22	Nepa	Updated [[Operator]]