Beaufighter V8560 at Scorton airfield.
On 12th March 1943 the crew of this 219 Squadron aircraft took off from Scorton at 20.50hrs to intercept enemy aircraft that were picked up on the early warning systems as approaching North-East England. This Beaufighter closed onto and attacked a Dornier off the East Coast in the Blyth area. The Dornier sustained damage to it's port engine but it's gunners were able to return fire before it crashed into the sea off Blyth at 21.45hrs. The Beaufighter sustained damage to it's windscreen and cockpit and the pilot was wounded in the leg with the gunfire. When the Beaufighter approached Scorton it was found that all the instruments had been damaged and were useless to effect a night landing, the hydraulics were also damaged and the undercarriage would not lower. A second Beaufighter was despatched from Scorton to fly along side this aircraft and to guide the aircraft it to land at Scorton, a belly landing was made on the second attempt to land but the aircraft crashed and caught fire though both crew escaped.
Beaufighter V8560 was built to contract B.30264/39 by the Bristol Aeroplane Company Ltd, at Filton and was awaiting collection in October 1942. The aircraft was taken on charge soon after completion by 219 Squadron at Scorton. As a result of the crash on 12th March 1943 Cat.E2/FB Burnt damage was the damage assessment which saw the aircraft written off.
Pilot - F/Lt John Clifford Ingledew Hooper RAFVR (61955). Injured.
Navigator / Radar Operator - P/O D Reid. Uninjured.
John Hooper was the son of S/Ldr Clifford Alban Hooper RFC and later RAFVR and Janet Ashley Hooper, of Wylye,
Wiltshire but who had previously lived in Kenya. John Hooper received his commission on 16th February 1941 to the rank
of P/O on probation and was promoted to F/O (war subs) on 16th February 1943 and then to F/Lt (war subs) exactly
a year later. He was awarded the DFC soon after this incident, Gazetted on 27th April 1943. By August 1944 he had
been posted to 604 quadron and on 7th August 1944 he was killed flying with this unit over France. He was twenty
three years old and he is buried in Bayeux War Cemetery.
The full identity of P/O Reid was not known when this webpage was created.