Spitfire AA812 at Topcliffe airfield.
On 24th January 1942 a this No.1 Photographic Reconaissance Unit aircraft was making a landing at Topcliffe airfield but touched down a third of the way down the east-west runway. This was not the runway in use at the time and unfortunately the aircraft bounced and then swung to starboard, the starboard wheel struck a bank of cleared snow and then left the runway, sinking into a partly filled land drain and overturned. The drain was next to the runway and the previous fill had subsided owing to wet weather. The airfield was technically in a period of closure while it was being rebuilt. Why the aircraft was in Yorkshire is not yet known.
Pilot - F/O Philip Wynne Herbert RAFVR (82676), aged 26. Buried Theale Churchyard, Berkshire.
Spitfire AA812 was built to contract B.19719/39 by Vickers Armstrong's (Supermarine Ltd) at Eastleigh and was first test flown on 22nd October 1941. It was delivered to Benson two days later and take on charge by 1 PRU. As a result of the incident on 24th January 1942 Cat.E/FA damage was the assessment but it remained at Topcliffe for some time presumably awaiting assessment but was finally transported by road to Heston Aircraft Co. Ltd. at Heston airfield where the aircraft broken down for spare and returned to produce.
Philip Herbert was a son of Commodore Philip Lee William Herbert and Gwendolin Hughes Herbert. He was part of a large military family. Unfortunately two other brother died during WW2. he is buried in a joint grave with younger brother F/O Gerald Bevill Herbert RAFVR (116456) who died on 14th February 1943 with 158 Squadron. Another brother F/O Richard Vivian Herbert RAF (34425) died serving with 211 Squadron on 13th April 1941 and is buried in Phaleron, Greece.
Searching the internet and older books for further details, some older publications quote Spitfire AA813 being the damaged aircraft at Topcliffe on this date. Other publications list AA813 as force landing on a beach in Dorset on this date. neither seem correct as the ORB for the unit it belonged to gives more details. Spitfires AA815 and AA813 belonged to No.1 Photographic Reconnaissance Unit (P.R.U.) and were being flown back to England from Gibraltar on 24th January 1942 with extra fuel tanks fitted. AA815 made it back to Dorset where it was force landed in a field near Chesil Bank after the pilot, F/O M C B Anderson, had had to glide the aircraft for many miled after the engine cut out at 28,000ft. AA813 didn't make it that far, it was abandoned over Mont St.Michel, France and the pilot, Anthony Barber, became PoW.