What was the first Spitfire to crash in Scotland.

There was a crash on the 3rd September 1939, Wallace K6028 on Benachie, I can’t remember what time of day it was but I think it was possibly after 11am.

For the earliest, how about the Barnwell Biplane which crashed during its first (very short) flight near Stirling in 1909.

For those interested in such things, there’s a monument near the 12th green to the aircrew who lost their lives while training at Turnberry and in Ayr Cemetery there is a memorial stone to two US Navy and two USAAS aircrew who were killed in a mid-air collision while training at Ayr Racecourse.

Anne

What about all the casualties from Montrose, Ayr, Turnberry etc in WW1?

Scott,

The earliest I have (which probably isn’t the earliest in Scotland, but is the earliest I know of in the Scottish Borders) is Avro 504K G-EAQV (ex-E9443), belonging to the Scottish Aerial Touring and Transportation Company. The aircraft crashed at Kelso on 24 May 1920 and was wrecked. The pilot and two passengers were only slightly hurt. Unfortunately, this is all the information I have, but it might be enough to find out more. If it does prove to be the first, and you need a more precise location, it might be worth contacting the Southern Reporter to print a letter requesting information.

Hi guys

I am bumping this one back to the top of the board

A) to let others see some info on Scottish wrecks

and

B) I dont think we got to the bottom of what was the earliest aircraft wreck in Scotland.

The earliest one I have been to was the 1928 ANEC Missel thrush.

any older than that.

The first Spitfire crash in Scotland appears to be:

Spitfire Mk I K9965
No 602 Squadron
8 September 1939
Sergeant John Martin Cullen Bryden, RAuxAF, 802600

Sergeant Bryden took off at 10.10 pm on his first night flight. He was seen taking off into the darkness, banking at about 500 feet and then the Spitfire came down the sky at full throttle, creating a fireball visible for miles around. He was, apparently, the first Fighter Command pilot ‘killed on active service’.

Spitfire: The History merely mentions that K9965 crashed near Glasgow on a training flight. Perhaps others here can provide a more specific location.

Originally posted by dhfan
Not that it helps with the first Spitfire, but there’s a niggling memory at the back of my mind that the first German aircraft to be lost over Scotland was shot down by a Blackburn Skua or Roc.

The first German aircraft to be shot down over Scotland during WW2 were two Ju 88s of KG30 shot down by Spitfires of Nos 602 and 603 Squadrons, based at Drem and Turnhouse respectively. The action took place on 16 October 1939 and is quite well documented. There is even a book dedicated to this combat, Birth of the Few, by Henry Buckton which is worth reading.

dhfan, I suspect that the aircraft you are referring to is a Do 18D which was forced down on 26 September 1939 by a Skua from no 803 Squadron from HMS Ark Royal. This, however, did not concern Scotland, the action taking place just north of the Great Fisher Bank in the North Sea. The Do 18 was sunk by gunfire.

Not that it helps with the first Spitfire, but there’s a niggling memory at the back of my mind that the first German aircraft to be lost over Scotland was shot down by a Blackburn Skua or Roc.

Another thought about the first Spitfire crash. Although not a write-off, a possible candidate could well be the a/c which Sandy Johnstone crashed whilst landing at Drem, when No 602 Squadron transferred there. I’d need to check the date, but it must have been very early September 1939.

It all depends on what is meant by ‘crash’!

Answering the first WWII aircraft to crash in Scotland.

If you consider the River Eden beside Leuchars as “in Scotland” then Hudson N7239 on 4th Sept 1939 at 15:45 hrs was a candidate for the first.

If not then the first Coastal Cat E loss on land was Hudson N7210 at Leuchars on the 8th September 1939.

Regards
Ross

Thinking about it, I seem to recall that some chap tried to fly using wings made of chicken feathers and throwing himself off the walls of Stirling Castle. This was in the 17th century I think. I don’t remember his name, but I’ll try and check this and find out more. Anyway, the guy survived (miraculously) and claimed that it didn’t work because he had used chicken feathers, and chickens don’t fly! However, he didn’t try it again with different feathers! Point is, this could well be the earliest ‘aircraft’ crash in Scotland.

I can’t guarantee what was the first aircraft to crash in Scotland during WW2, but I do know the first German aircraft to crash on Scotland was a Ju 88 which exploded and landed in pieces on Hoy on 17 October 1939. I don’t have a great deal of information on this incident and don’t know just how much of the aircraft actually landed on the ground (or whether anything still survives today). However, this certainly pre-dates the Heinkel 111 which was shot down on 28 October 1939 near Humbie in East Lothian as well as the Heinkel 111 which landed near Haddington on 9 February 1940. The latter was indeed AW177, and flew with 1426 (Enemy Aircraft) Flight until it was destroyed in a crash in 1942 or 1944 (I’d need to check my notes).

The Aer*plane article gives the correct serial as AW177,and also confirmes that it was the same machine pictured in Snapper’s post.

“I hope it wasn’t BW881, as that aircraft is now under restoration as G-KAMM”
Lol! Thanks for pointing that out Yak-11,that’ll teach me to rely on my grey matter at this time of night!I’ll dig out my copy of Aer*plane with the He111 database section in it and get the proper serial in a bit.

Guys the first German to land on British soil during ww2 was this aircraft.

Heinkel He111
Serial No 5449
Unit ID IH+JA
Unit KG26
Date 28/10/1939

But was it the first aircraft crash in Scotland.

This seems to be the first Spitfire that crashed (In Scotland) as far as our database goes.

Supermarine Spitfire Mark I
Serial No L1050
Unit 603 SQN
Date 19/09/1939
Location Balerno
Details Crashed on training flight.

Now all we need is the first aircraft to crash in scotland EVER.

I hope it wasn’t BW881, as that aircraft is now under restoration as G-KAMM.

I think Snapper’s Heinkel is the one which was repaired and flown again by the RAF for evaluation.I think the serial was BW881,but nothing is coming up on a Google search,so can’t be sure.She was destroyed in a fatal mid-air collision with a captured Ju88A during a demonstration flight over Duxford in 1943. 🙁

Dunno if this was the first to be shot down over Scotland? Heinkel He111K of 1/KG26 at North Berwick (Dalkeith) on 9th February 1940, after being shot down by Douglas Farquhar of 602 Squadron stationed at Drem.

“On February 9th 1940 a Heinkel 111 of Kampfgeschwader 26 based on the island of Sylt off the coast of northern Germany was shot down over East Lothian. The Luftwaffe crews had named the Firth of Forth “Suicide Corner” due to the amount of their aircraft that had been shot down in the area. The Heinkel coded 1H+EN was shot down by a Spitfire from 602 Squadron piloted by Squadron Leader Douglas Farquhar. The Spitfire fired 625 rounds at the Heinkel over Fife. With smoke pouring from its port engine it was clear that the aircraft wouldn’t be able to return across the north sea so the pilot Sergeant Helmut Meyer headed for the coast and made a forced landing at Rhodes Farm near North Berwick. The rear gunner Sergeant Wieners was killed by gunfire from the Spitfire. The rest of the crew escaped without injury.”
(not mine – http://freespace.virgin.net/thomas_carroll.woods/North_Berwick.html)

I think the first WW2 German aircraft wreck was a Heinkel 111 – not 100% sure.