Tom,

It’s always useful to provide a name as we can’t do any digging without that as a starting point.

However, should you not find what you are seeking here I recommend you ask the same question (with a name) on the Great War forum at http://1914-1918.invisionzone.com/forums/index.php?act=idx. This is devoted almost entirely to WW1 and includes a sub-forum The War in the Air which should almost certainly provide what you are seeking.

Trevor Henshaw’s book The Sky Their Battlefield lists a large number of casualties by name (just look in the index for your grandfather’s name), and I see this has recently been updated by The Sky Their Battlefield II (http://themilitaryreviewer.blogspot.co.uk/2015/04/the-sky-their-battlefield-ii-trevor.html).

Trevor posts on the Great War forum.

Brian

True, but would the owner be prepared to lose the land; besides which would the County Council permit a change of use? Apart from WW2 the site has little history (in terms of years); Yatesbury, 5-6 miles to the south, has a far greater aviation heritage (1916- late 1950s(?)), and flying (microlight) continues. Weather-wise the site is very exposed, having a very steep slope to the immediate west and northwest, which makes it prone to low cloud and hill-fog in winds from a westerly point.

Moggy,

I’ve tried to access your link several times, even rebooting, but each time I’m told “You do not have permission to access this page“.
Is this correct?

Brian

The Times article is actually detailed and quite lengthy, but it would appear the aircraft was probably damaged, not destroyed. The aircraft circled over Hawkinge watched by those on the ground and:

They were astonished to see it descend so low, for at one moment it almost struck the roof of the Officers’ Mess. Just afterwards it struck a hedge and crashed in a field about 200 yards from the aerodrome.

Edit. Perhaps I should have added it was followed by another Lympne aircraft.

Brian

Re Alan’s post #7.

I don’t think there was any official procedure whereby WW1 observers (ie non-pilots) were given rudimentary training in piloting an aircraft. However, it was obviously in the interests of both pilot and observer that the latter had some knowledge – although any ‘training’ depended entirely on the former’s encouragement. This from a letter written by 2nd Lt C K M Douglas to his parents on 27 July 1916:

Our machines are ordinary biplanes with engines in the front. They have dual control so I am getting some practice in flying, which is of course, very easy high up.

Douglas had just transferred to 34 Squadron which was flying BE2e’s at the time; his pilot was usually 2nd Lt Horsefield. The ‘practice’ to which Douglas refers must have been whilst on patrol as his log book makes no reference to any other flying activity.

Brian

Just to complete my #13, the aircraft that crashed at Manston was TE808, and the one at Lichfield was TA507.

The third Mosquito crash on the 18th was VA887 of 139 Sqn at the Coningsby BoB display; this from the 20 September edition of The Times:

A Mosquito crashed near Coningsby, Lincolnshire, an hour before a Battle of Britain programme was due to begin on Saturday. The pilot, Sqn Ldr G W Curry, who had led the wartime raid on the Dortmund-Ems Canal, and Cpl H Davies, were killed.

The report might be in error in respect of the time, as other reports imply the aircraft was recovering from a slow roll below its briefed height, and hit the ground during the display. (http://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/wiki.php?id=73644).

Brian

PS: Davies was a passenger.