Mustang AG663 at Clifton airfield.
During the late afternoon of 23rd December 1942 this No.4 Squadron Mustang was one of two that were flown from Defford airfield back to Clifton airfield following a detachment at Defford from 16th December 1942. The aircraft took off at 16.45hrs and flew in formation for some distance until the pilots encountered poorer visibility. They then lost sight of each other around two miles south of York. Owing to the wind the runway in use was the north-south runway and that the landing approach was from the north. In misty conditions at dusk the first aircraft attempted to land but on a section of runway that was being extended at the time and it had numerous unlit obstructions across it. The aircraft undershot the completed runway and collided with a concrete mixer near the end of the northern part of the north-south runway. It came to rest upside down trapping the pilot in the cockpit.
Two members of airfield ground staff witnessed the crash. One, Cpl W J Beer RAF (527276), jumped on a tractor and picked up the other, an engine fitter, LAC Ron Chapman RAF (645207) and drove to crash scene where LAC Chapman then pulled the badly injured pilot out of the wreckage. The aircraft was badly damaged and although the pilot survived he was badly injured.
The aircraft may have lost engine power just prior to the crash hence it undershooting. It was later stated that the east to west runway should have been used which would have avoided all the obstructions and probably seen a safe landing, despite a probable crosswind. The airfield control was not informed of what time the Mustangs were to be expected, as a result they had not made the night flying lighting available. The pilot must have suffered some burns, he was taken to the RAF hospital at Rauceby in Lincolnshire which was a hospital used for such cases at the time. The location in the modern era is probably in the region of what is now the B & Q carpark toward the roundabout at the Flying Legends pub.
Pilot - F/O Donald Alfred James Draper RAF (112008). Injured.
Donald Draper was born on 10th April 1919 at Lewisham. He had initially served in the Territorial Army, the London Rifle Brigade. He later served as a 2nd Lt in the South Wales Borderers but transferred to the RAF. He received a commission on 19th November 1941, almost certainly having gone through officer training at Cranwell and on the same course were a number of other 4 Squadron pilots - C J R Boyce (112002), L E G Buck (112003), W L M Denny (112007) and D A Greville-Heygate (112011). He rose to F/O on probation (war subs) on 1st October 1942 and to F/Lt (war subs) on 19th November 1943. After the incident detailed above he recovered from his injuries and returned to operational flying with 4 Squadron. Tattler magazine published a sketch of him before the War ended (shown above). As F/Lt he was awarded the DFC (Gazetted on 26th January 1945) for service with 4 Squadron. He survived the War but left the RAF and became a Chartered Accountant in London. He then re-joined the RAFVR as F/O on 19th August 1947 and on 28th November 1947 he was awarded the Efficiency Medal (Territorial), "having completed the qualifying period whilst serving with the Royal Air Force" for his TA service. He rose to F/Lt on 1st March 1951 (with seniority back dated to 19th August 1947, the date he joined the Reserve). It seems likely that he left the Reserve in August 1960, the last mention of him in the London Gazette was in August 1955 when he extended his service by five years.
Donald Draper was with 4 Squadron when Domonie Z7263 crashed at Doncaster in April 1942. He knew the family of one of the crew, P/O Boyce, having gone through training and later operational flying with him. He was given the responsibility of collecting and returning the body of P/O Boyce to his family in London. His brother F/Lt Gilbert Graham Fairley Draper RAF (42742) was a 41 Squadron pilot and ended his wartime flying on 7th August 1941 when taken PoW. My thanks to Ms. Sally-Anne Heygate for this sketch and additional information she has kindly been able to provide.
Mustang AG663 was built to British Purchasing Corporation contract A-250 by the North American Aircraft Corporation at Inglewood, Dallas, USA and was transported by sea to the UK, arriving at Liverpool in May 1942. From the docks it was transported by road to No.1 AAU at Speke for assembly and testing. In August 1942 it was taken on charge by 4 Squadron at Clifton. As a result of the crash on 23rd December 1942 Cat.E/FA damage was the assessment and it was written off.
