On 7th September 1917 this RNAS Flying School aeroplane was being flown by the trainee pilot in what was his first solo flight. He had managed to complete at least two circuits of the aerodrome at RNAS Redcar and was about to make an approach to land when the aeroplane descended at a steep angle. This then initially became a nose dive before it turned over to become inverted. The pilot managed to glide it for a short time inverted before it suffered structural failure, the wings broke off and it crashed near Redcar fatally injuring the pilot. He was transferred to hospital in Middlesbrough and sadly died of his injuries there around two hours after the crash.
Pilot - Probationary F/O John Marshall Dawson RNAS, aged 20. Buried Coatham Churchyard, Redcar, Yorkshire.
John Dawson was born on 1st October 1896 possibly in Greenwich, London. He was a student when he enlisted for service in the RNVR in 1916 and trained at HMS Victory VI before transferring to and being granted a commission in the RNAS on 1st April 1917. He was posted to RNAS Redcar Flying School on 23rd June 1917. Piecing together what little information I can find about him and his family is confusing. According to newspaper reports following his death it was stated that he "belonged" to Ripon, North Yorkshire, that his mother lived on Skellbank, Ripon, North Yorkshire and he was married. I cannot find a marriage in the English marriage index that fits for this however. He is commemorated on a family grave at Brockley and Ladywell Cemeteries, Lewisham, London which also suggests that his mother Louisa Jane Dawson is buried in the same family grave.
Curtiss JN-3 8392 was built by Curtiss in Toronto, Canada and was the dual control prototype of this type of aeroplane which first flew at Long Branch, Toronto on 14th July 1915. It was dismantled, packed and shipped to the UK where it arrived at AAP at Hendon for erection on 20th October 1915. It was then transferred to RNAS Chingford on 3rd November 1915 where it served for a short period before being sent to Fairey's for repair and conversion to a JN-3 (Improved) variant on 20th March 1916. On 28th August 1916 it found itself back at Hendon before being transferred to RNAS Redcar on 11th November 1916. During the delivery flight it crashed at Sleaford, it was repaired on site and continued the flight the next day via RNAS Killingholme and arrived at RNAS Redcar where it began service with the Flying School. Following a crash on 8th December 1916 it was repaired and returned to service and was involved in another more serious accident on 7th September 1917, both at Redcar. After this final incident it was not repaired and was deleted from stock.