The pilot and aircraft were part of No.1472 Flight. 1472 Flight were only ever a small unit, ever only having around six pilots at one time. They are incorrectly named as being 1472 Anti-Aircraft Co-operation Flight in pretty much every modern reference to this unit that I can find. The 1472 Flight record book gives their title as being 1472 (D-B) Flight, or 1472 (Dive-Bombing) Flight. As the scribe of the orb was there at the time I'm leaning towards 1472 (D-B) Flight being correct. They formed in June 1942 and throughout 1942 and early 1943 did not fly anti-aircraft unit co-operation work during this time. Their role was working with and acting as attacking aircraft in conjunction with army units training on ranges and in the hills of North Yorkshire. Their work was primarily on the training grounds around Barnard Castle, where an Army Battle School was situated but with other work on the North York Moors and in the Masham area. It is also worthy of note that they were often carrying out work on the Battle Hill range between Cotherstone and Bowes because this may have had a baring on the crash location of Tomahawk AH744. Pilot's who later left 1472 Flight to go to other units are listed in these other unit's records as having previously served at a dive bombing flight adding further weight to it not being involved in anti-aircraft co-operation work.
Before detailing the incident that cost F/O Henry "Harry" Wright his life in the crash of Tomahawk AH744 on 10th February 1943 I think it is worthwhile showing how inexperienced of flying the Tomahawk he was. F/O Wright was reasonably new to the unit and had not flown any of their "operational" flights with army units prior to 10th February 1943. He had arrived at 1472 Flight in early January 1943 and unfortunately on his first flight in a Tomahawk he crashed on landing at Dishforth on 13th January 1943. This appears to have been his only flight in a Tomahawk aircraft before the unit the began their move to Catterick two days later, he was the only pilot travel by road instead of flying an aircraft to their new airfield base and was the only officer there until the rest of the unit moved two days later. Poor weather then prevented flying training and it wasn't until 23rd January 1943 that he successfully made his first solo flight in the Tomahawk type. Although the unit record book does not list him by name each time thereafter it does state that flying training took place on some days between 23rd January and 9th February 1943 and it is likely that he undertook further Tomahawk training flights during this period. On 8th February 1943 he was involved in the collection of a Miles Master (DL615) that was loaned to 1472 Flight from 4 Squadron from Clifton airfield.
At 12.55hrs on 10th February 1943 F/O Wright took off from Catterick airfield to undertake what was described as a local flying exercise. In normal terms this would be to familiarise himself with the general area of the airfield where he was based. What I think happened in this case was that he took this opportunity to familiarise himself with the general area of where 1472 Flight undertook most of their work in the Barnard Castle area and perhaps more specifically the Battle Hill range. The aircraft subsequently failed to return to Catterick and was assumed to have crashed. Upon enquiring with surrounding organisations word came back to Catterick airfield about sightings of the aircraft that at 13.30hrs the Tomahawk was plotted by members of a Royal Observer Corps post near Barnard Castle to be flying at 5,000 feet and heading roughly in a north-westerly direction. With the aircraft reported as overdue, 1472 Flight then sent up their Master aircraft at 16.30hrs to try and find the Tomahawk, this was crewed by F/Lt Gore and P/O Irvin. They returned to Catterick upon finding the high ground of the North Pennines covered in fog (and presuambly it getting dark). The following day the same two airmen flew three more search flights without success. On 12th February pilots from the unit again attempted to spot the wreckage from the air but again turned back because of low cloud. On 13th February 1943 they again attempted and this time spotted wreckage of an aircraft on the moorland at 11.45hrs. The aircraft returned to Catterick and then F/Lt Gore and a team then went by road towards the scene, they then would have had to walk some distance to locate the site on Red Gill Moss, in the North Stainmore area and then identify the body of the pilot. On 16th February 1943 four of the unit's pilots attended this F/O Wright's funeral at Catterick 14.00hrs.
Pilot - F/O Harry Emmerson Wright RAF (124194), aged 29. Buried Catterick Cemetery, Yorkshire.
Tomahawk AH744 was one of a production order of 140 Curtiss Hawk 81 aircraft placed by the French Air Force to Curtiss aircraft before the Battle of France. Curtiss began manufacture of these aircraft but after France fell to Nazi occupation the aircraft that Curtiss were building were diverted for use by Britain. Because the order had been started for the French Air Force aspects of the aircraft were built to French specifications. This included French text on parts of the internal flying controls and some were even supplied to the RAF with metric dials on flying instruments. Some (or maybe all) were supplied with French specification engine throttle contols that worked the opposite to British aircraft in the French being pull back to increase power. The French specified lap belts instead of the RAF Sutton harness and this cost one ATA pilot his life while ferrying an early Tomahawk in the UK. No doubt a number of other differences existed. The history of the aircraft, as taken from it's AM78 movement card, would suggest it was assembled into a flyable aircraft once in the UK and was then taken to Cunliffe Owen where it was converted to RAF standards. I have been given the aircraft's instrument panel facia which contains a bezel from a fuel gauge with measurements in gallons not litres, this could suggest the other instruments had also been changed to RAF imperial ones by the time it arrived at 1472 Flight.
The history of Tomahawk AH744 states it was built to British Purchasing Commission contract F-273 by the Curtiss-Wright Corporation at Buffalo, New York, USA. It was shipped to the UK by sea, arriving in November 1940. On 13th November 1940 it arrived by road at Westland's, Yeovil for assembly and testing. On 3rd February 1941 it was flown to Cunliffe Owen Ltd. at Eastleigh to the S.A.S. (Service Aircraft Section) where it remained throughout 1941. This is where I presume it was converted to British specifications. On 31st January 1942 it is recorded as having passed to R.A.A.A. (Repaired And Awaiting Allocation) which presumably means the aircraft was ready for RAF collection but it remained at Eastleigh until 8th September 1942 when it was flown to 29 M.U. at High Ercall. 29 M.U. had the capability to modify aircraft but as it was there for a matter of days it was purely there to store it or add equipment. On 11th October 1942 it was taken on charge by 1472 Flight at Dishforth and moved to Catterick with them on 17th January 1943. As a result of the crash on 10th February 1943 Cat.E2/FA damage was recorded on the paperwork and it was struck off charge four days later. It had just thirteen hours and forty minutes flying time recorded against it.
Harry Wright was born at Avonwick, Devon on 12th November 1913 and was the son of Frederick William Henderson and Edith Charlotte (nee Patching) Wright. His father worked within the insurance industry. He had an older sister but the family appear to have moved from Devon after he was born to Worthing, Sussex where a younger sister was born. He also had a brother, Richard A Wright whom I cannot locate on the birth index. Harry married Delia Mary Nixon in Warwick on 7th July 1937 by which point both his parents had died with the family living at Kenilworth prior to that. In the 1939 register he and his wife were living at Belper, Derbyshire and he was an insurance claims officer. The date of his when he received a commission has yet to be found but he rose to the rank of F/O on 1st November 1942. He had arrived at 1472 Flight on 5th January 1943, undertaken his first solo flight in a 1472 Flight Battle on 8th January 1943 and unfortunately damaged the Tomahawk AH999 during his first landing on that aircraft type on 13th January 1943 at Dishforth. 1472 Flight then moved to Catterick on 17th January 1943. He was buried at Catterick Cemetery and his name is recorded on the Allestree War Memorial, Derbyshire suggesting that this was where his wife lived at the time. His wife may have given birth to a daughter in mid-1943 and possibly remarried in 1945.
This crash site must have been one of the popular ones people visited in the early 1970s and a number of people who I have been fortunate to locate photographed part of the wreckage before recovering it. Much of the wreckage is still probably close to where it was left after the RAF had recovered all they wanted following the crash. There are three distinct areas of wreckage, the most westerly lies in a shallow but reasonably long scar which gets deeper to the eastern edge suggesting the aircraft had first struck a wing in this area whilst flying in a turn back to the east side of the Pennines, perhaps with the pilot realising he was over high ground and was attempting to fly out of it. Having struck it's wing it then appears to have cartwheeled for some 200 yards and breaking up as it went.
These two photographs show Nick Roberts and his family at the site in April 1972. The photograph above shows Nick stood on the then buried complete wing. The photograph below shows his father carrying out the least bent propeller blade back to the A66 road. This blade was almost certainly still attached to the propeller hub and probably unbolted by them or by someone not long before. They also recovered the aircraft's instrument panel facia and a rudder / brake pedal. There was no proper law protecting aircraft crash sites back in the 1970s, what was left at them was fair game for anyone who had the time to recover parts. These items Nick and his family recovered have since been passed to a museum collection.
The partly buried complete wing as seen by Tom Stoddart probably in Summer 1972, Tom and his friends appears to have been the ones who removed it from the hole where it had been since 1943 and turned it over, as can be seen in his photograph shown below. These photographs must have been taken after April 1972 but not long after.
Two further photographs of Tom Stoddarts. The photograph above is of the intact propeller unit with two of the three blades still attached. All three and also the propeller boss were later recovered by different people. The photograph below shows the partly stripped Allison engine and by 1972 this was well stripped down.
Jim Rutland visited the site a number of times in the early to mid-1970s. These photographs show the large wing section and the Allison engine upturned. Jim says that between the photograph of the wing being taken and his next visit someone had hacked off the wing-tip with an axe. The engine was later broken up at the site and removed in sections. Parts of the engine and also the wing were recovered and are now on show at the North East Land Sea and Air Museum at Sunderland. Part of the engine is at Fort Perch Rock museum, Wirral along with the intact tail fin.
These two photographs were in a collection at the former Millom Museum. I have no credit details for them. The wing is clearly missing the wing-tip by this stage.
Historian David Thompson photographed the intact tail fin in Fort Perch Rock museum in 2011.
Jumping forward in time to April 2009 when I visited the crash site. Substantial remains are still at the site although much of what remains in the impact depressions which have filled with water leaving the these parts which are under water in poor condition.
The photograph above shows what I believe to be the initial impact mark and remaining wreckage within the waterlogged depression.
The photograph above shows the larger collection of wreckage in the hole made by the crashing aircraft.
What appears to be a wing control surface.
One of many component parts with the wording "LYTLiTE" and with the "75" number prefix to the part number. This aircraft type began life as a "Curtiss Hawk Model 75" and the "75" part number prefix probably refers to this.
The aircraft's rudder / brake pedal, the text is in French as the batch was ordered for France but later diverted to Britain. Both this and the instrument panel were recovered from the crash site in 1972 by air historian Nick Roberts.
The aircraft's instrument panel facia.
A fuel gauge on the same panel with the measurement being in Gallons, not Litres. This adds weight to confirming the aircraft had been converted to RAF specification from the original French metric specification.
A small plate with "PRESTONE" on it. I do not know what this refers to.
As for other items shown in photographs at crash site in the 1970s other items were recovered quite legitimately at the time but a full record has never really been made of what went where. I would be very interested to hear from anyone who knows of further parts of this aircraft still in existance.