Blenheim N3599 at Catfoss airfield.
On 28th June 1941 this 2 (C)OTU aircraft bellylanded at Catfoss airfield. Nothing more is known about the incident.
Pilot - Sgt Percy Noel Cowan RAAF (404171), of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
On the night of 18th August 1941 he was the pilot of Beaufort W6471 detailed to carry out a night circuits and landings exercise at the Donna Nook Landing Ground
in Lincolnshire. At around 23.00hrs and just after taking off for one such circuit the aircraft flew into the ground just beyond the airfield boundary. Sgt Cowan
suffered serious head injuries and although he was admitted to Louth County hospital he sadly died at 13.30hrs the following day. His brother was serving in the
UK at the time and is referred to in RAAF records as arriving at the bedside a few minutes after his death. Percy Cowan was twenty five years old and his buried
at North Coates Churchyard. At the time of his death his mother was living in Brighton, Victoria.
His observer, Sgt William Alan Lowing RAAF (402449), suffered concussion and was admitted to North Coates airfield sick quarters and later recovered. Sgt Lowing
later received a commission and would lose his life on operations on 24th July 1942 while serving with 86 Squadron when Beaufort GA355 crashed into the sea off Greece.
His body was later recovered and is buried in Athens, Greece. At the time of last updating this webpage is was not known whether Sgt Lowing trained
at 2 (C)OTU, if so then it is possible that he was also flying in B3599 when it crashed at Catfoss in June 1941.
Blenheim N3599 was built to contract 588371/36 by A.V.Roe & Co. Ltd. at the Chadderton factory and was awaiting collection in May 1940 but
was placed into a lengthy period of MU storage. It was finally taken on charge by 2 (C)OTU at Catfoss shortly after the unit formed in October 1940. It
was slightly damaged when it tipped up onto it's nose on 14th November 1940 (probably at Driffield) and was repaired on site. As a result of the incident
at Catfoss on 28th June 1941 Cat.R/FA damage was initially considered as bad as the damage got but after a later assessment further damage was found and
it was not repaired and struck off charge as Cat.E.
Percy Cowan was born on 23rd December 1915 to Percy and Dorothy Alice Phillippa Cowan in Brisbane, Queensland and as a boy attended Brisbane Grammar School.
He later studied industrial chemistry was working as an order clerk in a sales depot when he enlisted into the RAAF 21st June 1940 in Brisbane, at that date he
was living in Ashgrove, Brisbane. After completing his basic training he left Australia on 22nd March 1941. On arrival in the UK in May 1941 the first flying unit
he was posted to was to 2 (C)OTU on 7th June 1941. He completed his course here and was posted to 86 Squadron on 4th August 1941.