On 2nd October 1943 the crew of this 25 Squadron aircraft took off from Church Fenton airfield at 15.00hrs with the crew briefed to undertake a night flying test combined with a camera gun exercise with another Mosquito of the same unit. This crew were also detailed to carry out air to air firing before landing. At the time of creating the webpage I am not sure what a night flying test would involve as at this time of day it was daylight, possibly using the electronic equipment in the aircraft to track the other aircraft. The weather was good and by 16.00hrs both this Mosquito and also Mosquito DD738 were carrying out the camera gunnery part of the flight. This involved one aircraft acting as a target aircraft and the other aircraft would chase it from behind as close as possible making simulated gun attacks on it but with the gun camera running. At 16.05hrs Mosquito DD738 struck Mosquito HJ713 from behind while the aircraft were flying at around 7,000 feet, both aircraft initially became locked together and control was lost. Before crashing they seperated but both crashed near a railwayline off Red House Lane, between Shiptonthorpe and Market Weighton. The locations of "Sandfield Farm" and "Holme Lane" are quoted in the accident records. The site of both crashes was probably much closer to Market Weighton than Shiptonthorpe. The crash investigation believed that Mosquito DD738 had got too close to the rear of Mosquito HJ713 in the chase, the slipstream of the lead aircraft had effected control of the chasing aircraft which caused both aircraft to collide and crash.

Pilot - P/O Thomas Patrick Quinn RCAF (J/17904), aged 21, of Bainsville, Ontario, Canada. Buried Harrogate Stonefall Cemetery, Yorkshire (C/C/10).

Navigator / Radar Operator ("Air Bomber") - F/Sgt Stanley Albert Carter RAFVR (1585185), aged 20, of Ilford, Essex. Buried Harrogate Stonefall Cemetery, Yorkshire (C/C/11).

Thomas Quinn was born on 13th December 1921 in Curry Hill, Ontario, Canada and was the son of Thomas Joseph and Elizabeth Pearl (nee McGarry) Quinn. He had eight sisters and a brother with the family moving to Bainsville, Ontario when he was young. Thomas was working as a teacher when he enlisted for RCAF service in Ottawa on 26th December 1940 for aircrew duties and trained as a pilot. He was awarded his pilot's wings on 25th September 1941. He was posted to the UK the following month and then trained at 60 OTU and 54 OTU before posting to 25 Squadron on 29th September 1942. He was hospitalised in December 1942 for an unknown reason returning to 25 Squadron the following month when recovered. He received a commission on 17th June 1943. Around the same date as he received a commission he was selected to be posted to fly in North Africa and was posted to 1 OADU on 23rd June 1943 in preparation of this. His service record states that he was due to fly to join the North Africa theatre in early July 1943 and then in early August 1943 but he does not seem to have actually gone either time returning to 25 Squadron from Lyneham airfield each time.