ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 68895
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| Date: | Monday 14 November 1938 |
| Time: | day |
| Type: | Gloster Gauntlet Mk II |
| Owner/operator: | 151 Sqn RAF |
| Registration: | K7866 |
| MSN: | |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | Pitts Head crossroads, Handcross, nr Warninglid, West Sussex, England -
 United Kingdom
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | RAF North Weald, Essex |
| RAF Tangmere, West Sussex | |
| Confidence Rating: |  Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources |
Gloster Gauntlet Mk.II K7866, 151 Squadron, RAF North Weald, Essex: Written off 14/11/38 when engine failed & Damaged Beyond Repair in forced landing after hitting bank & overturning at Pitts Head crossroads, near Handcross, Warninglid, West Sussex. According to a contemporary newspaper report ("West Sussex County Times" - Friday 18 November 1938):
"PILOT ESCAPES UNHURT WHEN PLANE CRASHES
Machine Wrecked in Forced Landing at Handcross. A single-sealer Gloucester fighter belonging to the Fighter Squadron, North Weald, Essex, one of six which were flying to Tangmere, near Chichester, made a forced landing, on Monday afternoon, in a field south of the Pitshead crossroads, near Handcross.
The pilot, Pilot-Officer D H Ward (Derek Harland Ward 40786 from New Zealand), had a remarkable escape. Engine failure caused the pilot to lose height rapidly, and after clearing some high trees he saw a large field belonging to Mr. Bonner Morris, below him. The undercarriage struck a low hedge and the ’plane turned upside down, one of the wheels being flung a distance of feet. If the pilot had been able raise the ’plane a few inches higher he would have cleared the hedge.
Pilot-Officer Ward spent some anxious moments while he struggled to release himself from the inverted cockpit, which was only about two feet from the ground. Fortunately. fire did not break out, and he escaped apparently none the worse for the adventure. Police stood guard over the ’plane while the pilot notified the R.A.F. authorities. A “West Sussex County Times” reporter who took a photograph of the wrecked machine, had his film confiscated."
The "West Sussex County Times" report contains a number of errors as to the location of this crash. If it occurred near the Pitts Head (not Pitshead) crossroads, that was on the Warninglid to Cuckfield road (Cuckfield Lane - now the B2115) where this now crosses over the A23 on a bridge (and thus, since the A23 was upgraded, it is no longer is a 'crossroads' in the traditional sense), quite some distance south of Handcross. I have tried to locate the crash site more specifically, by reference to the 'large field belonging to Mr Bonner Morris', but without success. But as it occurred 'in a field south of Pitshead crossroads', the most likely candidate is Hazeldean Farm.
Wreck to RNAS Ford, Arundel, West Sussex. To Ground Instructional airframe at Locking. Struck Off Charge 10 January 1939; total flying time on airframe 334.40 hours
Sources:
1. Air-Britain The K File The RAF of the 1930s (James J Halley, Air Britain, 1995 p185)
2. West Sussex County Times - Friday 18 November 1938
3. http://mmpbooks.biz/gauntlet/AppendixGauntlet.pdf
4. http://sussexhistoryforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=13351.0
5. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Derek_Harland_Ward#RAF_career
6. http://www.rafcommands.com/database/wardead/details.php?qnum=119133
7. https://www.aucklandmuseum.com/war-memorial/online-cenotaph/record/C19070 ...
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 12-Oct-2009 15:25 | JINX | Added |
| 04-Feb-2012 09:05 | Nepa | Updated [Operator, Source] |
| 18-Jul-2013 05:02 | JINX | Updated [Operator, Source] |
| 13-Aug-2013 14:33 | Nepa | Updated [Operator, Narrative] |
| 14-Aug-2013 21:43 | JINX | Updated [Aircraft type, Operator, Narrative] |
| 20-Sep-2014 08:05 | Jixon | Updated [Aircraft type, Operator] |
| 10-Nov-2014 15:11 | Gerrard | Updated [Location] |
| 19-Mar-2018 18:04 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Time, Location, Departure airport, Source, Narrative] |
| 06-Oct-2018 05:43 | Nepa | Updated [Operator, Operator] |
| 18-Feb-2020 01:32 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Location, Source, Narrative] |
| 18-Feb-2020 01:33 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Source, Narrative] |
| 18-Feb-2020 01:34 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Location, Destination airport, Source, Narrative] |
| 18-Feb-2020 01:35 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Source, Narrative] |
| 06-Jul-2020 16:40 | pommehomme | Updated [Location, Narrative] |
| 18-Jul-2020 20:21 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Location, Narrative] |
| 08-Sep-2020 08:48 | db | Updated [Location, Destination airport, Operator] |
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