Spitfire X4774 at Catterick airfield.
On 3rd March 1941 the airfield lighting at Catterick was accidently turned off as this 41 Squadron aircraft was coming into land in bad visibility and in a cross wind. The
pilot had been scrambled to intercept an enemy aircraft and was returning to base at the time and was at 150 feet when the lighting went out. At 20.30hrs he landed
but the aircraft overshot and crashed through the airfield boundary hedge, crossed the A1 road near Bainesse Farm and struck a sand bagged trench. The aircraft
suffered damage which was initially believed serious to write it off but this was re-assessed and it was later repaired. The pilot was slightly injured. Police
records make mention of the aircraft striking something on the A1 and seriously injuring two other people, possibly gaurds in the sand-bagged trench. Bainesse
Farm has almost certainly been lost with the modern-day A1 road upgrades.
Pilot - S/Ldr Donald Osborne Finlay RAF (36031).
Two others seriously injured - Names unknown.
Donald Finley was born in May 1909. He joined the RAF in 1925 as an aircraft apprentice at Halton and was commissioned in 1935. During the War he had flown
with 54 Squadron and later commanded 41 Squadron. He had a mishap near Catterick in June 1941 after suffering engine failure. By this stage in the War this pilot
was a very experienced airman, at the time of this accident he was the Commanding Officer of 41 Squadron. He was awarded the DFC for service with 41 Squadron,
Gazetted on 10th April 1942, the citation reads..
"From September 1940, to August 1941, Wing Commander Finlay was the commanding officer of No. 41 Squadron. He participated in many sorties during which he
destroyed at least
3 enemy aircraft in combat. On one sortie, he attacked a German ship, leaving it a mass of flames. During the period his squadron destroyed 66 enemy aircraft.
Since joining his
present unit, Wing Commander Finlay has participated in several sorties. On 3rd March 1942, he destroyed a Messerschmitt 109 following a courageous head-on
attack, thus bringing his
victories to 4. This officer has always shown great keenness and he has set a splendid example to all." He later commanded 608 Squadron. As Acting G/Cpt
he was awarded the AFC, Gazetted on 1st September 1944 (but no citation has yet been found). He also commanded of 906 Squadron in Burma.
Alongside his RAF career he was an Olympic athelete. He first ran for Great Britain in the 1932 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles and won the 110m hurdles Bronze Medal and again in 1936
in Berlin he won the silver in the same race. He was also the GB team captain in the Berlin Olympics. Having survived the War he took part in the 1948 Olympics in London at the age of forty
but did not gain any other medals but his time was only one tenth of a second slower than his time before the War. He is widely regarded as the greatest high-hurdler in GB history
perhaps only Colin Jackson being as good. He took part in British Empire Games in 1935 and won Gold and in the European Championships in 1938 and again won Gold. His athletics career
ran alongside his military one. He retired from the RAF while in the rank of Group Captain in 1959. He was paralysed in a car accident in 1966 and died in April 1970 in the Wycombe area of Buckinghamshire.
Spitfire X4774 was built to contract B.19713/39 by Vickers Armstrong's (Supermarine) Ltd. at Woolston and was first test flown on 14th November 1940. Two days
later it was flown to 9 MU at Cosford here it began a long service history. On 26th January 1941 it was taken on charge by 54 Squadron at Catterick but on 23rd
February 1941 54 Squadron left Catterick for Hornchurch, leaving behind their Spitfire's for 41 Squadon who moved up from Hornchurch for a rest from the hectic
operational flying of the South of England. On 23rd February 1941 this aircraft was taken on charge by 41 Squadron at Catterick and on 3rd March 1941 Cat.R damage
was sustained as a result of the mishap recorded above although the Am1180 has Cat.W crossed out and replaced by Cat.R suggesting the damage appeared worse that
it was when inspected. It was assessed the same day by 43 Group Maintenance & Salvage and was dis-assembled and transported by road to AST Ltd. at Hamble,
arriving there on 11th March 1941. On completion of the repair it was flown to 37 MU at Burtonwood on 13th June 1941. On 27th July 1941 it was taken on charge
by 57 OTU at Hawarden and the code "LV-H" applied to it. On 17th December 1941 it was slightly damaged, with Cat.A(c)/FA damage being recorded, due to unknown
circumstances. It was again dis-assembled and transported by road for repair, this time to The Westland Aircraft Company Ltd. at Yeovil, arriving on 2nd January
1942. On completion of the repair it was flown to 34 MU at Monkmoor where it suffered a Cat.A/GA ground accident on an unknown date soon after but the damage
must have been minor as it was repaired on site and was awaiting collection on 24th January 1942. On 10th February 1942 it was flown to 9 MU at Cosford where it
remained in store until being taken on charge by 58 OTU at Grangemouth on 26th July 1942. It suffered a mishap on 23rd November 1942 with Cat.B/FA damage being
recorded and was again transported to AST Ltd. at Hamble for repair, which was completed by 26th December 1942. On 31st December 1942 it was flown to 33 MU at
Lyneham for storage. On 11th May 1943 it was taken on charge by 53 OTU at Kirton in Lindsey. On 9th November 1943 it was flown to Scottish Aviation Ltd. at
Prestwick for servicing and repair and was awaiting collection on 3rd March 1944. On 18th March 1944 it was flown to 6 MU at Brize Norton, two days later it
had been collected from Brize Norton by a ferry pilot of 3 FPP based at Hawarden and flown to Hawarden prior to delivery to a unit but was damaged on landing,
with Cat.A(c)/FA declared when it ran off the peritrack at Hawarden and tipped on it's nose. It was repaired on site and on 17th June 1944 was flown to 53
OTU at Kirton in Lindsey. On 17th August 1944 it was flown to 8 MU based at Little Rissington for long term storage prior to disposal before being struck
off charge on 30th November 1945.