Hurricane P3522 in its early life during the Battle of Britain whilst serving with 32 Squadron.
On 10th January 1941 the pilot of this 213 Squadron Hurricane took off from base of Leconfield at 09.40hrs and was to undertake a formation flying exercise. The exercise was to be carried north of Leconfield and in the general area of Scarborough. During the exercise the formation entered cloud and the pilot of this aircraft became detached from the pilot's section leader, the pilot then became lost when flying in the cloud. Nothing more was heard or seen of the aircraft and it was recorded as missing. The aircraft was eventually located as crashed on high ground in the snow covered Yorkshire Dales on Caldbergh Moor, south of Scrafton near Middleham. Police records state that it was discovered at 14.00hrs on 22nd January 1941. Owing to the scatter of wreckage it was thought that it was probably flying level at the time of the crash. The pilot was sadly killed. In the years after the crash the pilot's mother erected a memorial on the crash site. The pilot had only seventeen hours flying a Hurricane at the time of this incident and it was then stated that pilot's flying with operational units should have a minimum of twenty hours flying the type prior to joining the operational units.
Pilot - Sgt Eric Gordon Bruce RAFVR (748618), aged 20. Buried West Acklam Churchyard, Middlesbrough, Yorkshire.
Eric Bruce (photograph supplied by Ms Jacqui Bruce Smith, niece of the pilot) and his gravestone. He was born on 27th November 1920 (probably) in the Stockton on Tees / Middlesbrough area and was the son of Benjamin W. and Laura Emmaline (nee Barker) Bruce. He had an older sister. His father was born in Glasgow, by the 1911 census he was working as an illustrator and living at Piercebridge, Durham but died in Darlington in 1920. Eric was cremated at Darlington and his ashed interred at St.Mary's, West Acklam, Middlesbrough. His epitaph suggests that he was a Battle of Britain pilot; this is not correct as to qualify as a Battle of Britain pilot he would have to have flown operationally in The Battle and this he did not.
The aircraft flew into the ground on the near horizon shown on this photograph.
The memorial stone at the crash site. I first visited the crash site in October 2003 and not much in the way of actual aircraft remained at the site,
only a few small pieces of the aircraft were found. The aircraft appears to have impacted twenty feet from the memorial as a shallow crater/propeller mark
is visible when the heather is short. I revisited the area again after the heather had been burnt off in Summer 2006 to photograph the site again.
Much of what was on the surface at the crash site in 2006.
Hurricane P3522 was built to contract 962371/38 by The Hawker Aircraft Co. Ltd. at either of the Brooklands/Kingston/Langley factories and was awaiting
collection in April 1940. It was taken on charge by 32 Squadron at Biggin Hill the following month and on 26th May 1940 moved with unit to Wittering then
on 4th June 1940 it moved with the unit to Biggin Hill. On 15th August 1940 it sustained Cat.R/FB when it was damaged by return fire from Dornier Do.17's
the squadron were attacking at 18.00hrs off Selsey Bill. The pilot on that occasion, Sgt B. Henson, managed to land the aircraft at Tangmere and he was unhurt.
Later that month it was dismantled and removed to Hawker's for repair and on completion of the repair and after acceptance it was taken on charge by 213
Squadron at Leconfield where it remained in use by them until January 1941. As a result of the accident detailed at the top of this page on 10th January
1941 it was reported simply as "missing". On 22nd January 1941 the aircraft was found and then declared as Cat.E2/FA and struck off charge. The aircraft
had served pretty much through-out the Battle of Britain.