Huricane serial number

Hurricane L1910

More on the history of this Aircraft after service with 501 squadron according to the movement card:

28-05-40. 21 AD.
20-06-40. 4 MU & 1 CRU.
(It appears that the engine went tothe MU & the Aiframe the CRU)
15-08-40. 10 MU.
14-09-40. 6 O.T.U.
28-11-40.
Spitfire X4589 FY-L flown by Sgt D.A.Edwards of 611 Squadron overshot on landing at Sutton Bridge & collided with Hurricane L1910 which was dispersed on the Airfield. (Airframe damaged, repairable at MU, engine ok)

04-12-40. SAS Rolls Royce Hucknall (servicing & aircraft section)
31-08-42. CAT B
03-09-42. RIW Morrisons. (repaired in works)
06-12-42. 203 MU.
07-03-43. 59 O.T.U.
08-11-43. 6 S of TT. (school of technical training)
24-03-44. 2 S of TT.

? Reduced to Scrap.

hope this is of interest.

Iain (Hurri600)

A couple of pictures of the Hangar 11 Collection Hurricane showing the access hatch arrangement…

Hello Kev

Sorry have been out all day.
You are quite right the chap you found is confirmed by the family to be the right man the parents and area tie up, It has nothing to do with the B of B Pilot I first thought it was. I simply made the mistake of getting W A confused with A W.
The chap who originally owned the escape hatch was this mans brother A C Wooley I want to esablish a conection between him and the door, I would imagine this happened at one of the OTU’s the Hurricane went to, or possible an MU.
I am useless finding stuff on google and cant find anything on A C Wooley.
If you still need to ring you I will after dinner.

Thanks again

Graham

Very good.

I think there’s an interesting story behind all this, just need that little breakthrough to confirm what I’ve already found and to help me move on further.

regards,

kev35

A.W or W.A its all getting ‘a bit Woolly’ isn’t It?

Graham.

I think for a minute that you need to step back from the A W Wooley with the BoB connection. If the scroll is from the same family as the Hurricane part you have then I strongly suggest that your man is W A Woolley. I have found something which may help you get the story straight with the family but I really don’t want to post on here until I’m more certain.

I PM’ed you my number and would appreciate it if you would call me before I go any further.

Regards,

kev35

Hurricane L1910

According to the movement card L1910 joined 501 Squadron on the 14th of July 1939 from No 8 Maintenance Unit.
Until damaged in action on the 12th of May 1940 while being flown by P/o K.N.T.Lee.

Other 501 Squadron Pilots known to have flown this Aircraft are :

H.C.Adams
W.B.W.Gracey
D.B.Crabtree
R.C.Dafforn
C.E.Malfroy
M.F.C.Smith
K.N.T.Lee
Clayton
A.D.Pickup
E.S.Williams
D.A.S.McKay

Hope this is of interest
Hurri600

Thankyou Kev

Your skill at interrogating google is far superior to mine could not find a thing. This is definitely the Brother of the previous owner of the escape hatch, a quick look at fighter command losses shows nothing so I am assuming he was a Bomber pilot, will remove the fighter Squadrons from the list for a start.
I am also awaiting more info from the family. Could you do me a huge favour and work your magic on A C Woolley also RAF survived.

Regards

Graham

Forgot to say that the Service Number seems to be in a block issued in January 1939 for personnel transferring to the RAF from the Army.

Regards,

kev35

Graham.

You didn’t look very hard did you?

658470 Sergeant (pilot) William Armstrong Woolley. Aged 24, he died on 24th March, 1943. He was the son of Mark Woolley and Margaret Nicholson Woolley of Tweedmouth, Northumbria. He is interred at Karachi War Cemetery, Pakistan.

As to the scroll, it was issued to the families of all servicemen and women who died during the war.

If you can get the names of the current Woolley family, you should be able, genealogically speaking, to trace back (or forward) and find whether this is your man.

Other areas to look at are what RAF units were operating in Northern India at that time to try to narrow things down. But you have to bear in mind that Karachi War Cemetery contains 642 Second World War burials which may or may not have been concentrated there from other locations. Of these 642, it appears that around 200 are RAF personnel. From those 200 there are numerous Squadrons listed, some of which I don’t think actually served in the Far East anyway. However, here’s a sketchy list for you to consider.

1
5
8
10
20
25
27
28
31
34
84
99
100
110
191
205
212
215
271
298
306
353
616
659
670

There you go Graham, that’s just 20 minutes on Google. Plenty there for you to go at. If I find anything else later I will of course let you know.

Regards,

kev35

Ok here goes there was a Great Grandfather W A Woolley who was killed in the war. The picture shown relates to him, the only sg Pilot I can so far find that was killed was A W Wooley died during the Battle of Britain is it possible that this is the same person with initials transposed or is there an W A Wooley. Is it usual for a someone to recieve this scroll or was it under special circumstances.
The owner of the escape hatch was the Son of W A Wooley, A C Woolley cannot find any info on him although apparenty broke his back falling off an aircraft wing.
The Brother of A C Wooley was also in the RAF M. W .Woolley the plot thickens.
Seems strange that both father and Sons could be involved in WWII but not impossible I guess?

Its all good stuff. I am still trying to make a link between the original owner and the escape hatch, its seems the story is more complicated than originally posted something I hope to clarify shortly. So far it now appears the original owner only died two years ago, but both his father and Brother who were also both in the RAF died during the War. I am waiting for an email with all their initials and then hope to sort out who did what. :confused:

It’s quite the image, I agree!

Thankyou great picture, I am now clear on its function I assumed it was a door, learnt something new again.

You aren’t the only one assuming it was a door! after all, it looks like one, smells like one, and therefore … we can get caught out.

A PS regarding boarding Hurricanes; the pull-down footstep, handhold and kick-in steps are on the left (port). I don’t think a pilot could board from the right while wearing flying kit and a ‘chute, whereas a ground-crewman would be expected to lightly-spring up (on the other side) to assist with strapping in.

Trivia, but fun.

Melvyn Hiscock’s book The Hawker Hurricane Inside & Out from Crowood is recommended for this. Our (MMP’s) book on the Hurricane also has a detailed walkround photo section. It’s sold out, but both can be picked up with a bit of looking.

http://mmpbooks.biz/mmp/books.php?book_id=78

Regards,

Thankyou great picture, I am now clear on its function I assumed it was a door, learnt something new again. It certainly seems a good idea and makes life allot easier for the ground crew to service the cockpit.

Interesting so would the pilots use this to get in or out? or simply jump in over the top, I could imagine they went through a few of these not being attached to the aircraft, …

No to all that. Hurricanes were usually entered on the left, this fits on the right.

As Bruce said, it can provide better access, but primarily for groundcrew servicing. I’ve never seen an image of it opened for a pilot’s entry – that doesn’t mean it couldn’t but for the reasons above, and the apparent fragility you’ve noted, I highly doubt it ever happened. In fact, when fitted and locked in position, it’s more than strong enough as long as no clown stood on it.

An example where one has come adrift is shown here. http://www.aeroplanemonthly.co.uk/news/Hurricane_canopy_failure_news_257343.html

Of course our local Hurri driver could be asked to comment by PM…

Regards,

Thankyou

Sgt. A.W.Woolley joined No 601 Squadron on the 5th of July 1940 from No 604 Squadron, where he had been since the outbreak of war. Sgt. Woolley was on patrol in his Hurricane(P3681) off Selsey on the 11th of July 1940 at 18:20hrs. He baled out over the Isle of Wight after an attack on a Heinkel 111. His aircraft was a write off, he survived but was burned and wounded. In another Hurricane (V7238), on the 26th of August 1940 at 16:00hrs, he crashed at Great Totham, Essex and he survived the crash. Sgt A.W.Woolley was shot down three times during the Battle Of Britain

What a hero burned and wounded then back in action shot down again 6 weeks later then again when he was presumably killed. Its makes you wonder how they stuck it, quite incredible bravery.

Sgt Woolley

details on the link below

http://www.the-battle-of-britain.co.uk/pilots/Wo-pilots.htm#WoolleyAw

WOUNDED OH INJURED IN ACTION—

Sgt. A. W. Woolley, 740788.

From http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1940/1940%20-%202184.html?tracked=1t

but according to http://www.thesoutheastecho.co.uk/Fighter_Pilots_W.htm

service no 67602

10th July 1940 from http://translate.google.co.uk/translate?hl=en&sl=es&u=http://www.forosegundaguerra.com/viewtopic.php%3Ff%3D16%26t%3D8560%26start%3D60&ei=87CPTLCqHJXh4Aae_bHaDQ&sa=X&oi=translate&ct=result&resnum=3&ved=0CB8Q7gEwAjgK&prev=/search%3Fq%3Da%2Bw%2Bwoolley%2B601%2Bsqn%26start%3D10%26hl%3Den%26safe%3Doff%26sa%3DN

1 Hurricane Mk I – P3681 – 601 Sq – Sgt AW Wooley – Hit in the fuel tanks by the gunners of a He-111 on the Isle of Wight at 18:50, the Hurricane is on fire. Wooley jumps, though wounded and burned. According to eyewitnesses, machine-gunned a German fighter while trying to drift. Back to active duty, being shot down two other times during the Battle of Britain

Lost on 26th August 1940 according to http://militaria.forum-xl.com/viewtopic.php?f=54&t=514&start=40

Monday the 26th of August 1940
Day: Widespread activity, with raids between 15,000 and 20,000 ft, as well as low-level assaults and much reconnaissance. Main raids fall in Essex, where KG 2 and KG 3 aim for Debden, North Weald, Hornchurch and parts of East London; and in Kent, with Luftflotte 2 attacking Biggin Hill and Kenley. Other aircraft, from KG 55, attack Portsmouth and neighbouring airfields. Interception by fighter Wings breaks up most of the eastern raiders, and only Debden suffers major damage.
No 43 Squadron was dispatched with other squadrons to intercept fifty He 111 bombers moving westwards towards Portsmouth at 16:00hrs, escorted by one hundred fighters. It was the first major action of No 1 R.C.A.F. on this day.
Night: Night attacks were directed against Plymouth, Bournemouth, Coventry and other areas.

Losses: Luftwaffe 41: Fighter Command 31

Weather: Mainly cloudy with brighter weather in south and cloudy in Channel.

No 601 Squadron — Hurricane I (V7238) — A.W.Woolley

Interesting so would the pilots use this to get in or out? or simply jump in over the top, I could imagine they went through a few of these not being attached to the aircraft, unlike a Spitfire door it seems very fragile, a hasty exit could see it hit the floor and smash. Its unbelievably light almost like its made of balsa wood.
Watch this space there is at least one more item from the same source.
Whats known if anything about its original owner Sgt A W Wooley hes on the Battle of Britain honour role.

Unlike the Spitfire the door does not seemed to be hinged but appears to have locating lugs in the bottom, when the catch is un locked the whole door appears to detach. Have learnt some thing new today.:)

Actually, this is an emergency ‘breakout panel’ rather than an entry door; that is to say it was incorporated in production Hurricanes to give a better chance of escaping; rather than a fold down door for entry on each occasion of boarding like the Spitfire’s.

Nice item, good find, and good provenance too!

Regards,

I believe it was removed before it went to MU as it belonged to A W Wooley who was killed in the Battle of Britain, he told his wife it belonged to the sister aircraft of the one he flew what ever that means.