Martinet HN862 near Muston.
Martinet HN862 (albeit a slightly digitally warped photograph).
On 7th July 1943 the pilot of this aircraft was carrying out a target towing flight off the Yorkshire Coast with No.1634 Anti-Aircraft Co-Operation Flight when the fuel gauge showed the fuel was running low, the pilot turned the aircraft in land and made landfall and crashed whilst attempting a forced landing near Muston, to the west of Filey at 11.45hrs. The flight had lasted only forty five minutes. The investigation found that a faulty fuel gauge caused the pilot to make the assumption that the aircraft had run out of fuel. The aircraft as such was written off in the crash although it was possible to salvage the engine.
Martinet HN862 was built to contract ACFT/1690/C.23(c) by Phillips & Powys at Woodley and delivered into MU storage in August 1942 before being issued to the RAE at Farnborough later that year. On an unknown date in 1943 it was transferred to A&AEE at Boscombe Down. After a further period of MU storage it was issued to Hutton Cranswick's Station Flight. In mid-1943 it was quickly transferred to 1634 AAC Flight at Hutton Cranswick on 17th June 1943. It sustained Cat.E2/FA damage in the incident on 7th July 1943 and was written off.
Pilot - Sgt Walter Nichol RAFVR (1576994). Uninjured.
Drogue Operator - LAC Crosdale RAF.
Prior to enlisting into the RAFVR Walter Nichol was an instructor of the City and Guilds of London in Woodwork and Handicraft. He received a commission on 20th October 1943 (160635) to the rank of P/O on probation (emergency) (160635). He was posted to 567 Squadron on 11th December 1943 but was sadly killed on 14th May 1944 when he was flying Martinet EM473 which suffered engine failure on a target towing flight and crashed whilst being ditched off Whitstable, Kent. He was twenty three years old and is buried in Mere Knolls Cemetery, Sunderland. His winch operator at the time was LAC Harold Knight who was also killed but his body was never found and he is commemorated on the Runnymede Memorial.