Meteor VT120.
On the 11th of December 1950 a Meteor practicing aerobatics on a training flight ran out of fuel after becoming lost
in the poor weather near Whitby. The pilot made a forced belly landing near High Quebec Farm, Sleights. He survived. The
aircraft was written off with Cat 4 damage being recorded. After making the landing the pilot walked down to Quebec Farm, where the owner
met him and gave him a cup of tea! The pilot then asked where the nearest Police station was and walked down to Sleights to it,
leaving his parachute and Mae West at the house. The pilot later returned with the police who put a guard on the aircraft. The
pilot was taken to Whitby and he made his own way back to Middleton St George on the train.
Meteor VT120 was built to contract 6/ACFT/658 by the Gloster Aircraft Co. Ltd at Hucclecote. It was delivered to the RAF in April 1948
and after acceptance it was issued to 92 Squadron at Duxford who were converting from Meteor F.3's in May 1948. It transferred on an
unspecified date to 226 OCU at Bentwaters before moving onto 1 Squadron at Tangmere. Number 1 Squadron converted to Meteor F.8's in September 1950
and the aircraft was transferred to 205 AFS at Middleton St.George on 7th September 1950 when the unit was formed.
Though reported not visually badly damaged the aircraft sustained Cat.E2/FA damage in the incident detailed above.
Pilot - F/Lt Harry L Mellor RAF (51739), uninjured.
John Skinn and myself visited the general area of where this aircraft is thought to have crash landed in June 2006. Whilst having no real
information to accurately track it down we searched a wide area of moor south of High Quebec Farm for any small trace of the aircraft, nothing was found.
The photograph above shows the most likely location where the aircraft was landed, in the area of moorland between the camera and the pylons on the background of the photograph.
The pilot, Harry Mellor was an experienced Wartime pilot of propeller driven aircraft, he was Commissioned on 19th January 1943 and made a F/O on 19th July 1943 and to F/Lt (War Subs) on 19th January 1945. On the 19th July 1946
his rank of F/Lt was confirmed in the post-War RAF. In relation to this incident at Sleights, at the time he is recorded as having flown over 2000 hours, however his time
flying the Meteor was very short, at the time of the crash
he had only three hours on the type. In the last six months prior to the crash he had only been pilot for some four hours on any aircraft.
He was later awarded the Air Force Cross, Gazetted on 5th June 1952. He then is said to have retired from the RAuxAF on 23rd January 1953 but then was "re-employed on the active list" on that date. He
was then made a S/Ldr on 1st July 1959. S/Ldr Mellor AFC retired from the RAF on 31st July 1962.