On 13th December 1917 this RNAS Flying School aeroplane crashed near Potto and was badly damaged but the pilot survived, nothing more is known about the incident.
Pilot - Probationary F/O Sydney Castle-Smith RNAS. Injured.
Sydney Castle-Smith entered the RNAS on 15th August 1917. He later transferred to the RAF and was granted a temporary commission as Second Lt on 17th April 1918. He relinquished his commission on account of ill health sustained on active service on 8th January 1919. He probably married in the Bromley area of Kent in 1925 where he sadly died later the same year. It could be that he died as a result of long term complications which resulted from him initially leaving the RAF in 1919. It is not known where or when he was born.
Avro 504 N5256 was built by The Sunbeam Motor Co. Ltd of Wolverhampton as a 504B variant but converted during manufacture to a 504H variant. It was delivered to RNAS Redcar by rail on 4th December 1916 and after testing it possibly joined the RNAS Home Defence Flight. It was transferred to RNAS Scarbrough Home Defence Flight on 29th January 1917 but returned to RNAS Redcar the next day. On 3rd February 1917 it was damaged at Redcar it was initially deemed repairable though this was done for some time. It was eventually returned to service only to be written off in an accident at Potto on 13th December 1917 (probably after transfer to the RNAS Flying School) and was deleted two days later.