In the early morning of 31st March 1941 the pilot of this aircraft was undertaking a training flight with 55 Operational Training Unit based at Usworth, Sunderland. The nature of the flight is believed to have been a height test but during the flight the engine failed and caught fire in the air. A glycol pipe burnt in the fire and sprayed the liquid over the windscreen blocking the pilot's vision and preventing a forced landing being carried out. The pilot baled out and landed reasonably safely and despite loosing his flying boots he was uninjured. The aircraft crashed at 08.10hrs on Ravenseat Moor, to the east of Whitsundale, one of the smaller valleys at the head of Swaledale. The area was thought to have been covered in snow at the time of the crash and the pilot had to walk for help in his stocking feet, he eventually found his way to Ravenseat Farm before eventually being collected and returned to Usworth airfield.
Pilot - P/O Frederick Charles Hill RAFVR (62649). Slightly injured.
Frederick Hill was the son of Charles Verner and Evelyn Isabel (nee McWatters) Hill and was born at Belfast on 26th November 1918. As a young man he worked for his father's electrical engineering company. He received a commission on 26th February 1941 (with seniority of 16th February 1941) to the rank of P/O on probation (emergency) and was promoted to F/O (war subs) on 26th February 1942 (with seniority of 16th February 1942). He completed his training at 55 OTU. His obituary stated that he was involved in another crash but the details for this are not yet known. Having been posted to Fighter Defence Flight, Aden, he was killed on 18th November 1942 when Hurricane V7830 collided with Hurricane Z4782 over Ras Imran, Aden. He has no known grave and is commemorated on the Alamein Memorial.
I located the crash site in November 2007 with historians Ken Reast, Albert Pritchard and Eric Barton and local farmer Mr Robert Owen as our guide. Mr Owen recalled finding some pieces of metal which he believed to have been aircraft related whilst driving sheep in the area and the site was soon located through by following his directions. A further search yielded a handful of pieces; some containing Hurricane part numbers, the remains of a flying instrument and a couple of .303 bullet cases. We would like to thank the Owen family of Ravenseat for their help, quad-bike transport to the crash site and for their hospitality on our return. The day we visited was a very wet one and good photographs were not possible! The photograph above shows the area where we found our pieces, there could well be more in the boggy area in the foreground. I will aim to return to the area to re-photograph the site another day.
One of the pieces with a Hawker aircraft company inspection stamp.
This piece is exactly the same as one I found at one of the Hurricanes which crashed on Scafell, in the Lake Disrict. As a result this confirmed the site location.
Hurricane L1670 had a very long and interesting service history and I thank Mr Graham Sharpe for compiling it and all the other service histories shown on this website. L1670 was built to contract 527112/36 by The Hawker Aircraft Co. Ltd. at either their Kingston or Brooklands factory and was awaiting collection in April 1938. After a lengthy period of MU storage it was taken on charge by 32 Squadron at Biggin Hill in October 1938 when the unit converted from Gauntlet MkII's to Hurricane MkI's. On 3rd January 1940 it moved with the unit to Gravesend. In March 1940 it was transferred to 601 Squadron at Tangmere when the unit began converting from Blenheim MkIf's to Hurricane MkI's and on 17th May 1940 it moved with the unit to Merville, France in support of withdrawal of the B.E.F. to Dunkirk but on 22nd May 1940 the unit withdrawn back to Tangmere. On 1st June 1940 it moved with the unit to Middle Wallop, on 17th June 1940 to Tangmere, on 19th August 1940 to Debden, on 2nd September 1940 back to Tangmere and on 7th September 1940 with the unit to Exeter. By the end of September 1940 it had passed to No.4 F.P.P. at Filton. Soon after 1st November 1940 the aircraft was taken on charge by 55 OTU at Aston Down and the unit moved to Usworth on 14th March 1941. It sustained Cat.E2/FA damage as a result of this mishap over the Pennines as stated above. It was struck off charge afew days later on 10th April 1941 when the paperwork went through.
During the Battle of Britain it saw frequent action and was flown regularly by Sgt Leonard Northwood Guy RAFVR (758223). On 11th July 1940 Sgt Guy claimed a Ju87 as destroyed while flying L1670 (but the aircraft was not confirmed as destroyed by him) and also a Ju87 as damaged, in an area both around 1 mile South of Portland. That day II/LG1 lost one Ju87 over the Channel and one force landed on return to France at St.Inglevart, having been damaged in action and III/St.G2 lost one Ju87 over the Channel. His aircraft must have been some of these. On 13th August 1940 Sgt Guy was again flying L1670 and claimed one Bf110 as destroyed, one Bf110 as shared destroyed and one Bf110 as damaged, all north of Southampton. On that date V/LG1 reported five Bf110's as damaged, all force landed in France on return. 13/LG1 reported two Bf110's as shot down into the Channel of Bournemouth. 14/LG1 reported one Bf110 as shot down into the Channel of Bournemouth. 15/LG1 reported two Bf110's lost west of Bournemouth. II(Schlacht)LG2 reported one Bf110 as belly landed at Wissant on return from ops, returning on one engine. I/ZG2 reported three Bf110's as force landed at Le Havre on return from ops and one Bf110 shot down over Winchester, north of Southampton. II/ZG2 had one Bf110 return to base with damage after ops. I/ZG26 reported two Bf110's crashed in France on return from ops. 3/ZG26 lost a Bf110. 7/ZG26 had one Bf110 crash land on return from ops. 8/ZG26 reported one Bf110 crash landed from ops over the Channel off Portland. 8/ZG76 had one Bf110 FTR from ops. off Portland and finally 9/ZG76 reported one Bf110 as missing from ops. over the Channel off Portland. Sgt Guy's aircraft must have some of these Luftwaffe aircraft. On 18th August 1940 Sgt Guy was shot down and killed over Portsmouth in another aircraft and sadly his body was never found.