ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 68927
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| Date: | Tuesday 23 November 1937 |
| Time: | day |
| Type: | Gloster Gladiator Mk I |
| Owner/operator: | 3 Sqn RAF |
| Registration: | K7896 |
| MSN: | |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | Ashford-Redhill Railway Line, near Warlingham, Surrey -
 United Kingdom
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | RAF Kenley, Whyteleafe, Surrey |
| RAF Kenley, Whyteleafe, Surrey | |
| Confidence Rating: |  Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources |
Delivered new from the manufacturers 3/4/37 to "C" Flight, 3 Squadron, RAF Kenley. Written off (damaged beyond repair) 23/11/37 when flew into trees on hill in low cloud on weather test, Warlingham, Surrey. Pilot - Pilot Officer Harold Edward Vickery sustained minor injuries (a sprained ankle). According to the book "Three's Company" (a history of 3 Squadron RAF):
"P/O Vickery was 'coming by train' to Kenley on 23 November 1937 in K7896, i.e. following the Ashford to Redhill railway line, flying low due to weather: Suddenly, immediately ahead, the entrance to the tunnel north of Oxted appeared out of the murk with high ground above it [he had forgotten this]. Yanking back on the stick, he put the aircraft into a steep climb, but with insufficient speed, the aircraft stalled and fell on the sharply rising hill near Warlingham. The only injuries to P/O Vickery were a sprained ankle and a dent to his pride, but it took a very long time to recover the damaged aircraft from its precarious position"
A contemporary newspaper report adds further details ("Surrey Mirror" - Friday 26 November 1937):
"AEROPLANE CRASH IN FOG.
ON THE RIDGE AT WOLDINGHAM.
THE PILOT’S REMARKABLE ESCAPE.
A young pilot officer of the Royal Air Force, at the Kenley Station, was in charge of a single-seater fighter machine on Tuesday morning, when it crashed on The Ridge. Woldingham, the well-known hill, which commands extensive views across the country around the Oxted district. There was a considerable amount of fog at the time of the occurrence, especially over the summit of the Downs, and visibility must have been rather difficult.
It was at about a quarter-past ten that residents in the vicinity suddenly heard a tremendous crash, and they rushed from their homes to ascertain the cause. An air disaster was feared, as an aeroplane had been heard hovering overhead. It transpired that a machine had come down on the bank and woodland a short distance from Great South Hawke, the residence of Mr. and Mrs. J. P. Plincke, and another residence Little Hawke.
Mrs. Plincke promptly telephoned for a doctor, and also notified the police at the Caterham Station. With other members of the household, she then ran to the scene of the crash and was amazed to find that the young pilot was still occupying his seat in the cockpit in the midst of the debris. The machine had struck some trees, breaking off both wings and otherwise wrecking it, as it became embedded in the bank. Pieces of the woodwork, etc., were scattered around. Fortunately the wreckage did not burst into flames. Several other residents were soon on the spot and Supt. Cox and P.S. Budd from Oxted, and Inspector P. Bishop and constables from Caterham, arrived in the police cars.
The pilot was quickly rescued from his dangerous position, and within a few minutes Dr. Hodgson Jones was in attendance. To the relief of everybody it was discovered that the pilot was not seriously injured. Apart from being somewhat shaken, he sustained a broken ankle, and a bump on the back of his head. After receiving the attention of the doctor he was removed in a police car to Little Hawke house, and later in the R.A.F. ambulance to the hospital at the Kenley Aerodrome.
In the meantime a telephone message to the R.A.F. Station had resulted in contingent of officers and mechanics arriving on the scene, and subsequently they collected the wreckage of the aeroplane and conveyed it to the Kenley R.A.F. Station.
Given that the aircraft was rolled up into an almost unrecognisable ball upon impact, it's amazing that P/O Edward Vickery got off so lightly. Pilot Officer Vickery made a full recovery and was later promoted to Flying Officer. He was posted to 263 Squadron. He lost his life on the 8th June 1940 when the British aircraft carrier "HMS Glorious" was attacked and sunk by the German battleships Scharnhorst and Gneisenau. Ten Gloster Galdiators from 263 Squadron and a number of Hurricanes from 46 Squadron had been flown aboard to help cover the withdrawal of Allied Forces at the conclusion of the Norwegian Campaign. HMS Glorious was sunk with the loss of over 1,200 lives. All ten pilots from 263 Squadron lost their lives. There are many references to this incident in books and on the internet.
K7896 was Struck off charge 3/1/38 (with 99.05 hours on the airframe).
Sources:
1. Air Britain The K File The RAF of the 1930s (James J Halley, Air Britain, 1995)
2. Three's Company By Jack T C Long
3. Surrey Mirror - Friday 26 November 1937
4. http://surfcity.kund.dalnet.se/gladiator_raf_3.htm
5. http://www.rafcommands.com/forum/showthread.php?9237-Gladiator-prangs
6. http://sussexhistoryforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=14467.0
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 12-Oct-2009 23:48 | JINX | Added |
| 08-Mar-2018 20:46 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Time, Location, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative] |
| 19-Oct-2018 19:04 | Nepa | Updated [Operator, Destination airport, Operator] |
| 18-Feb-2020 17:49 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative] |
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