Spitfire N3236 near Catterick airfield.
During the afternoon of 13th September 1941 the pilot of this 122 Squadron aircraft was undertaking a training flight and while he was returning to Catterick and flying at around 1,500 feet the engine cut out. Being around five miles from base of Catterick he to attempt to glide back and make an approach to land. Having lowered the undercarriage and made an approach to land he realised that his flying speed was too great to be able to lower the flaps which could bring the aircraft to a halt on the airfield site. He then raised the undercarriage and made a belly landing in a field around 400 yards west of Catterick airfield. The aircraft received damage. It was found that the aircraft had run out of fuel due to the lack of fuel in the tanks before the aircraft had originally taken off. A member of ground crew was tried at Court Martial for neglecting to refuel the aircraft after a previous flight and he was sentanced to 56 days detention.
Pilot - Sgt Anthony Richard Hutton Maynard RAFVR (1376087), of Ebberston, North Yorkshire. Slightly injured.
Anthony Maynard received a commission to the rank of P/O on probation (emergency) on 5th March 1942 and having been promoted to F/O six months later
he was lost on 22nd November 1942 flying with 185 Squadron in Malta. He was flying Spitfire EP696 which was shot down by a Bf109 over Sicily and the aircraft
crashed into the sea. He was twenty two years old and is commemorated on the Malta Memorial. Anthony Maynard was local to where I live and wife grew up in
the same village of Ebberston, it seems likely that at the time of his death his parents were living in the neighbouring village of Allerston as he is listed
on Pickering War Memorial in the Allerston section. He was possibly born at the Low Hall, Hackness, Scarborough in 1920. It is also possible that his parents
lived at Ebberston Hall which is between Ebberston and Allerston.
Spitfire N3236 was built to contract B.527113/36 by Vickers Armstrong's (Supermarine) Ltd. at Woolston and was first test flown on 11th December 1939, ten days
later it was flown into storage with 24 MU at Ternhill. On 3rd May 1940 it was taken on charge by 602 Squadron at Dyce and on 5th June 1940 it suffered a minor
accident with Cat.R/FA damage recorded. It was taken away and repaired in works at Scottish Aviation Ltd, at Prestwick and the damage must have been fairly
serious as it was not flown to 45 MU at Kinloss for storage until 30th March 1941. On 2nd June 1941 it was taken on charge by 122 Squadron at Turnhouse where,
on 15th June 1941 it tipped up onto its nose sustaining Cat.A/FA damage. It was repaired on site and returned to the unit, on 26th June 1941 it moved with
the unit to Ouston. On 5th August 1941 it sustained another Cat.A/FA accident when it ran off the runway at Ouston and collided with an obstruction, it was
again repaired on site and returned to the unit. On 31st August 1941 it moved to Catterick with the unit and as a result of the incident there (detailed above)
on 13th September 1941 Cat.B/FA damage was recorded on the paperwork. On 21st September 1941 it was transported to Westland Aircraft Co. Ltd. at Yeovil for repair
but after assessment on 17th November 1941 it was Re.Cat.E and converted into instructional airframe 2826M. After this nothing more about the aircraft is known.