Tiger Moth T8087 at Yeadon airfield.
On 11th June 1941 this 20 E.F.T.S. aircraft overshot on landing at Yeadon airfield and ran into a vehicle. The aircraft was slightly damaged but those on board escaped injury. This was the instructor's second mishap in ten days.
Instructor Pilot - P/O John Follett Bristow RAFVR (80953).
Pupil Pilot - LAC William Gordon RAFVR (1055895).
William Gordon was awarded the DFM for service with 37 Squadron in December 1942.
Tiger Moth T7087 has a long service history, it was built to contract 20916/39 by Morris Motors Ltd. at Cowley and was awaiting collection in December 1940. The aircraft was first taken on charge by 12 E.F.T.S. at Prestwick shortly after completion but this unit disbanded on 22nd March 1941 so the aircraft passed to 20 E.F.T.S. at Yeadon soon after. As a result of the minor damage sustained on 11th June 1941 Cat.A/FA damage would have been the damage assessment but no record of it features in the published Air Britain history. 20 E.F.T.S. disbanded on 9th January 1942 so this aircraft was placed in MU storage until June 1942 when it was taken on charge by 170 Squadron at Weston Zoyland. From this date the published history becomes a little vague. 170 Squadron moved around in the months that followed and this Tiger Moth would have followed them around. It next appears on charge with Army Co-Operation Command Communication Flight at White Waltham by the end of 1942 and appears to have remained with them until the unit disbanded on 31st May 1943. It next appears on charge with 3 E.F.T.S. at Shellingford in late 1943 where it remained until being transferred to 6 F.T.S. at Little Rissington in 1945. It’s final RAF unit was with the Station Flight at Henlow before it was placed in long term MU storage. The aircraft was sold on 19th October 1954 and was registered on the UK civilian register as G-AOIX to A.H.Jones on 13th January 1956. The registration was cancelled on 11th December 1956. On 14th May 1957 it was registered to Wiltshire School of Flying at Thruxton where it remained until the registration was cancelled on 1st March 1965. On 9th March 1965 it was registered to M.F. Ogilvie-Forbes at Andover and remained with this owner until the registration was cancelled on 15th December 1967. On 26th February 1968 it was registered to C.Boddington at Wellingborough but on 24th June 1969 it was cancelled with the aircraft listed as being permanently withdrawn from use. It clearly was stored for eleven years because on 5th November 1980 it re-registered as G-BPAJ to P.A. Jackson at Cambridge. On 24th October 1916 it was registered to John David Smith / Jeffrey Marwood Hodgson, probably based at Baxby, North Yorkshire and is the registration was still current at the time this webpage was last updated in August 2019.