Does anyone have info on aircraft that managed to hit the Wrekin during the war years?
regards, Terry
Mention of The Wrekin, rang a bell from the days when I used to research 13 (County of Kent) Sqn RAF, so I dug out the following from an old back-up disc.
On the 7th December 1941, a sudden snowstorm appeared whilst 131 squadron was airborne. Sgt Horace Albert Metcalfe RAAF (402962) bailed out from his Spitfire (P7746 NX-K), after nearly hitting a hill, but he was too low for his parachute to work.
Horace, aged 24, is buried at Atcham (St Eata) Churchyard, Shropshire. Row N, grave 7.
Can’t remember where the following came from,
‘Horrie joined 131 squadron on the 12th November 1941 and was killed on the 7th December 1941. During this time, the squadron was based at RAF Atcham, near Shrewsbury, Shropshire; and flew the Spitfire Mk II. At the time, the squadron was non-operational, due to half of the pilots being posted away to form another squadron. On the day that he arrived, eight other pilots, six New Zealanders and two Australians, also joined the squadron. All, like Horrie, came from No 61 Operational Training Unit. During his time with them, the squadron was busy working back up to operational status, and bringing the new pilots up to standard. The sorties flown by the squadron were mainly training ones.
On the 7th December, Horrie took off in Spitfire II P7746. The purpose of his flight was ‘cine gun and aerobatics’. Whilst he was airborne, a sudden snowstorm hit the area. It seems that he was unable to land at Atcham, due to the snow, and asked for a course to another airfield. Unfortunately, he failed to climb to a higher, and safer altitude, whilst doing so. Probably he was distracted by the situation that he had found himself in, but the consequences were fatal. Four miles from Atcham is The Wrekin (pronounced reekin), a large hill, the summit of which is 1,334 feet above sea level. Atcham itself is 200 feet above sea level. With visibility much reduced by the snow, it seems that Horrie didn’t see The Wrekin until he was almost upon it. He appears to have pulled the nose of the Spitfire up sharply, in order to try and avoid hitting the hill. In doing so he must have stalled the Spitfire, in other words reduced the speed too much, so it wasn’t going fast enough to remain airborne. He bailed out at about 150 feet, but there wasn’t enough time to use the parachute. The funeral took place on the 11th December, and he was buried at Atcham (St Eata) Churchyard, row N, grave No 7. Two other members of the squadron, a Canadian and a New Zealander, are also buried in the churchyard. These were also killed in flying accidents.
Horrie’s Spitfire crashed at Rushton Cottage, on The Wrekin. No less than six other RAF aircraft crashed as a result of this snowstorm. At the time of his death, Horrie had 55 flying hours on Spitfires and 144 flying hours in all. All the hours on Spitfires were flown in the six months prior to his death.’
P7746 (CITY OF BRADFORD I*). 403 sqn 25/8/41. 43 Grp DA 7/9/41. 131 sqn 2/10/41. Cat E FA -[?]/12/41. SOC 30/12/41. (AM 78). * card only has ‘Bradford I’ written on it.
131 sqn, ex 403 sqn, 2/10/41. (131 sqn ORB).
131 sqn, ex Debden, 2/10/41. (1 ADF ORB)
Cat W FA, 131 sqn 7/12/41. Unable to land on airfield during snow storm, owing to bad visibility. Pilot failed to gain height whilst asking for vector to another base. Pulled up sharply when approaching high ground and probably stalled. Abandoned aircraft at about 150′, but had insufficient tim to use parachute. Location- Rushton cottage, The Wrekin, Shropshire. Purpose of flight- camera gun & formation flying. (AM 1180).
Hope this is of use to you.
Geoff
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