During the late evening / early morning of 17th / 18th August 1943 were undertaking a night patrol and had located an enemy aircraft, the crew of this Beaufighter damaged the enemy aircraft and may also have sustained damage by return fire. Because the fuel in the fuel tanks that were selected were allowed to run dry the engines were starved on fuel and stopped. The aircraft crashed on approach to land at base of Scorton airfield and was badly damaged when it struck a hut. Both airmen were admitted to Northallerton Friarage Hospital. Bill Norman is pretty much the authority of Luftwaffe losses in Northern England, neither of his "Broken Eagles" books lists any Luftwaffe aircraft as crashing on land or off the coast of Yorkshire / Durham / Northumberland on this date so I assume the enemy aircraft got away.
Pilot - F/Sgt J Wilkinson. Injured.
Navigator - F/Sgt Peter Catchpole RAFVR (658202).
Peter Catchpole was granted a commission to the rank of P/O on probation on 24th May 1944 (179137) and rose to F/O on 24th November 1944. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for service with 604 Squadron, the citation was a joint one with a regular pilot (F/Lt Reginald Arthur Miller RAFVR (123201)) with whom he flew with in the months after August 1943. The citation reads.. "These officers have completed very many sorties in the role of pilot and observer respectively. They have displayed a high degree of skill and resolution and have destroyed three enemy aircraft at night. Pilot Officer Catchpole has also assisted in the destruction of another enemy aircraft." On 12th August 1944 he was flying with F/Lt Miller when they crashed Mosquito MM496 on landing at Picauville.