On 2nd October 1943 the crew of this 25 Squadron aircraft took off from Church Fenton airfield at 15.20hrs with the crew briefed to undertake a night flying test combined with a camera gun exercise with another Mosquito of the same unit. At the time of creating the webpage I am not sure what a night flying test would involve as at this time of day it was daylight, possibly using the electronic equipment in the aircraft to track the other aircraft. The weather was good and by 16.00hrs both this Mosquito and also Mosquito HJ713 were carrying out the camera gunnery part of the flight. This involved one aircraft acting as a target aircraft and the other aircraft would chase it from behind as close as possible making simulated gun attacks on it but with the gun camera running. At 16.05hrs Mosquito DD738 struck Mosquito HJ713 from behind while the aircraft were flying at around 7,000 feet, both aircraft initially became locked together and control was lost. Before crashing they seperated but both crashed near a railwayline off Red House Lane, between Shiptonthorpe and Market Weighton. The railway line became blocked. The locations of "Sandfield Farm" and "Holme Lane" are quoted in the accident records. The site of both crashes was probably much closer to Market Weighton than Shiptonthorpe. The crash investigation believed that Mosquito DD738 had got too close to the rear of Mosquito HJ713 in the chase, the slipstream of the lead aircraft had effected control of the chasing aircraft which caused both aircraft to collide and crash.

Pilot - Sgt Herbert Anthony Hay RAFVR (953382), aged 21, of Castletown, Sunderland. Buried Hylton (Castletown) Cemetery, Durham.

Navigator / Radar Operator - Sgt John Cosson Scammell RAFVR (1681770), aged 33, of Chorlton-cum-Hardy, Manchester. Cremated Manchester Crematorium.