Whitley N1350 at Linton on Ouse airfield.
On 29th December 1939 this 78 Squadron aircraft was damaged while taxying over frozen rough ground at Linton on Ouse airfield from the dispersal point to the take off point prior to a training flight. The tail wheel collapsed. The state of the grass runway at Linton on Ouse was mentioned in the 78 Squadron record book and stated that four aircraft were damaged in December 1939 because of it. Concrete runways were being created but flying was still using grass strips at the time. In the case of this mishap the aircraft ran through rough ground at the side of a newly created concrete runway, it was left round having being cut up by construction vehicles.
Pilot - F/O James Arthur Piddington RAF (39562).
James Piddington was born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada in 1914 and had served in the Canadian Militia before being granted a short service commission
in the RAF to the rank of Acting P/O on probation on 8th March 1937 and was posted to 9 FTS at Thornaby two weeks later. He was promoted
to F/O on 25th July 1939. On 3rd September 1940 he was promoted to F/Lt and on 1st December 1941 he rose to S/Ldr (temp). He flew with 427
Squadron and 434 Squadron before a posting took him to 429 Squadron as Acting W/Co in July 1943, later that month he was pilot of Wellington
JA114 on 28th July 1943, the aircraft was shot down over Germany, he is buried in Hamburg Cemetery. He was awarded the DFC over a year after
his death but it was effective from 26th July 1943. There is a suggestion that although awarded when he was effectively with 429 Squadron it
was awarded for service with 419 Squadron.
Whitley N1350 was built to contract 75147/38 by Armstrong Whitworth Ltd at Baginton and was issued to 78 Squadron at Dishforth in September 1939 when the unit
began conversion from Whitley MkI's and MkIV's. It then moved with the unit to Linton On Ouse on 15th October 1939. After the mishap above Cat.M/FA damage was recorded and it was
repaired on site and returned to the unit. It again sustained Cat.M(c)/FA damage on 15th March 1940 in a taxiing accident at Linton On Ouse. It was again repaired on site
and returned to the unit. It later transferred to 10 OTU at Abingdon on an unknown date and later transferred to 24 OTU at Honeybourne. It then passed into MU storage
and was struck off charge on 28th June 1944.