On 19th May 1941 the pilot of this aircraft was undertaking a training flight from Usworth near Sunderland. The RAF's crash card, the AM1180, is not available for this incident and as a result little else is known, 55 OTU's Operation Record Book gives very little detail but does states the pilot became lost after flying in cloud for some time. being unaware of his position but probably realising he was over high ground he opted to bale out and it is thought that he landed safely but the location of where he landed is not known. The aircraft crashed into the well-known landmark of the Hole of Horcum, between Pickering and Whitby and an intense fire took hold of the aircraft in which it was completely destroyed. In other similar 55 OTU incidents the aircraft had suffered wireless failure resulting in the pilot being unable to contact his base, the same may well have happened here.

Hurricane P3772 was built to contract 962317/38 by Hawker at Brooklands and delivered to the RAF in June 1940. After acceptance it was issued to 3 Squadron at Wick in July 1940. On an unspecified date it transferred to 504 Squadron and may have taken part in the latter stages of the Battle of Britain. It later transferred to 232 Squadron at Elgin in late 1940 before finally ending up at 55 OTU in April 1941 when 232 Squadron became inactive in prepartion for a move overseas. It was written off in the above incident with Cat.E2/FA damage on 19th May 1941.

Pilot - Sgt William J (Bill) Metherall RAAF (400151), aged 22, of Inverloch, Victoria, Australia. Survived.

Sgt Bill Metherall (far right) during his training in Canada (left to right are, WJ Kennedy RAAF, RA Knappet RAAF, RHC Sly RAAF and WJ Metherall).

Bill Metherall was born on 4th June 1918 in Willaura, Victoria, he enlisted into the RAAF on 23rd June 1940 in Melbourne, Victoria. After he completed his training at 55 OTU he was posted out to the Middle East soon after. He firstly served with 238 Squadron and on 1st January 1942 whist flying Hurricane Z4957 when his aircraft was damaged by enemy fighters two miles west of Sollum, he sustained injuries. This possibly hospitalised him for a short time. He then was posted to 450 Squadron, Whilst flying in Kittyhawk AK604 on 16th May 1942 his wing man's aircraft was damaged by an enemy fighter, this pilot baled out but this aircraft now crashed into the tail section of P/O Metherall's and took both aircraft down. Bill Metherall (400151) was unable to bale out and was killed in the resulting crash to the south of Acroma in Libya. He was initially buried beside his aircraft (as was often the case in such desert accidents) but he was later re-interred in Knightsbridge Cemetery in Acroma, Libya. He was only twenty three years old.

In the Hole of Horcum today little remains and the crash site is very hard to find. I first visited the site with Howard Newbould in April 2004 and although only tiny fragments remain they confirm exactly where the aircraft had crashed. I have since been back to the site a number of times, as the location is not well known the site has changed little in the years inbetween (although including it on this website I have been careful not to show exactly where the site is). The photograph above shows fragments found on the surface in 2007. Over the years I have been contacted by a number of people wanting to metal detect this site, as the site is on Levisham Estate land and a notice near the crash site states that any metal detecting on their moorland is not permitted and the Estate have been good enough to make access to their land possible and any infringment of their wishes may result in this being revoked. Would any would-be detectorists please take note of this request, the National Park authorities wishes for the protection of crash sites and the 1986 Protection of Military Remains Act of Parliament.

Further fragments found in rabbit scratchings in November 2009. As can be seen, the bullets have all exploded (or cooked off) in the fire and the metal at the foot of the photograph in the centre is a small blob of molten aluminium also confirming the intensive fire that must have occured.

55 OTU look to have been using up old stock .303 bullets, of the remaining cases on the surface at the crash site a number have the 1938 date on them.