Spitfire P8168 at Catterick airfield.
On 11th June 1941 this 41 Squadron aircraft hit a ridge on the runway at Catterick when the pilot was making a night landing
at 00.10hrs and the aircraft burst a tyre. The aircraft was soon repaired.
Pilot - Sgt Alan Lindsay Bull RAAF (400219).
Alan Bull was born in Bairnsdale, Victoria, Australia in February 1918. He enlisted into the RAAF in Melbourne and arrived at 41
Squadron in early June 1941, the incident detailed above was the first of at least three mishaps he had within a month. This aircraft
was soon repaired and Sgt Bull was the pilot again on 22nd June 1941 when he damaged it again at Catterick (detailed on its own webpage).
On 8th July 1941 he was the pilot of Spitfire P8206 landing at Greatham landing ground when the aircraft hit a heap of rubble hidden by
long grass and the undercarriage collapsed. On 12th August 1941 he was shot down over France and captured and held as a PoW. In April 1945
he was part of well documented forced marches, he escaped and walked back to the Allied lines. He survived the War and died in 1997.
My thanks to Steve Brew and his 41 Squadron research for much of this information. Steve's great uncle was with Alan Bull when he escaped.
Spitfire P8168 was built to contract B.981687/39 by Vickers Armstrong's Ltd. at Castle Bromwich and was delivered to 33 MU at Lyneham
on 13th March 1941. It was taken on charge by 41 Squadron at Catterick on 6th April 1941 and suffered this first mishap on 11th June 1941
and only appears to have been very slightly damaged and possibly only burst a tyre with Cat.M(c) recorded on the AM Form 1180. It was soon
repaired and on 22nd June 1941 it burst a tyre but the undercarriage then collapsed, after which Cat.R damage was recorded. It may have
sustained a similar incident exactly a month later at Catterick but I speculate that this is an error and perhaps a third incident at
Catterick never occured. After the 22nd June 1941 incident it was repaired on site and returned to unit and on 29th October 1941 it
transferred to 145 Squadron also based at Catterick. On 5th December 1941 it transferred to 417 Squadron at Charmy Down then on 19th
February 1942 to 53 OTU at Llandow. On 12th April 1942 it sustained Cat.A/FA damage in an as yet unknown incident and a repair in works
was deemed necessary. It was taken to Air Service Training Ltd at Hamble for repair. On 2nd October 1942 the repair was complete and it
was taken on charge by 5 (P)AFU based at Ternhill. On 31st July 1943 it transferred to 5 FTS at Ternhill then on 11th November 1944 it
transferred to 7 PAFU at Peterborough but on 6th May 1945 it crashed on landing at Peterborough and was initially assessed with as Cat.A/FA
damage but on 30th May 1945 it was re-Cat.E and struck off charge.