Caudron G.III 3865.
On 16th January 1917 this aeroplane was being flown by a pilot of the RNAS Flying School at Redcar on what was his first solo flight when it made a nose dive and crashed in the Redcar area, probably on RNAS Redcar aerodrome or very close as the pilot would almost certainly have been making a circuit of the aerodrome at the time. The pilot was thrown out and sustained injuries. The aeroplane was badly damaged.
Pilot - Provisional F/O Henry Welby Lee RNAS. Injured.
Henry Lee was born on 8th May 1896. His father was a Justice of the Peace and lived in Woodseats, Sheffield. Henry appears to have initially served in the Royal Navy before transferring to the RNAS and being granted a commission on 12th November 1916. He was posted to RNAS Redcar Flying School on 16th December 1916. While undertaking his first solo flight on 17th January 1917 he sustained injuries to his face and hands. He was passed as fit on 26th April 1917 and returned to Redcar soon after but did not complete pilot training. He was transferred to train as an observer and graduated as a "KB Pilot Observer" later in the year at Roehampton which appears to be a Kite Balloon training school. His service file has no further information.
Caudron G.III 3865 was built by Aeroplanes Caudron at Le Crotoy as a dual control trainer and after acceptance in the UK was issued to RNAS Whitley Bay on 24th June 1915. It was tested by them and accepted there on 25th June 1915 and probably served in the Home Defence Flight. It suffered a flying accident there when it crashed on landing at Whitley Bay after an anti-Zeppelin patrol in mid-1915. After repair at British Caudron Co. Ltd at Cricklewood and a brief period of not being used it was issued to RNAS Flying School Redcar but the date it arrived is not known. On 16th January 1917 it crashed at or near Redcar and was not repaired. It was deleted on 31st January 1917.