Mosquito TW102 at East Moor airfield.
On 16th May 1946 this No.54 Operational Training Unit aircraft was attempting to take off from East Moor airfield at 14.35hrs with the pupil being tested by an instructor. On the take-off run the aircraft entered a swing to port when travelling at around 60 mph after the pupil applied power to quickly. The instructor took over control but as the aircraft was nearing a parked aircraft he swung the aircraft to starboard to avoid a collision during which the undercarriage collapsed.
Instructor Pilot - F/Lt Denis Charles Leslie Webber DFC RAFVR (116778).
Pupil Pilot - F/Sgt George Stott RAFVR (1625352).
Denis Webber was born on 18th February 1922 in Margate, Kent. He was awarded the DFC for service with 120 Squadron, Gazetted on 9th November 1943, the citation reads.. "This officer captained an aircraft which participated in an attack on a U-boat recently. In spite of fierce fire from the U-boat's guns, Flying Officer Webber pressed home his attack and, at the third attempt, straddled the vessel with his depth charges. The submarine blew up, leaving survivors in the water. Flying Officer Webber displayed skill, courage and resolution of a high order." The date of his commission is not yet known (probably late 1941-early 1942) but he rose to F/O (war subs) on 1st October 1942 and F/Lt (war subs) on 28th March 1944. He remained in the RAF Post-War and later transferred to from the Reserve to the full time RAF. On 1st January 1949 he received the King's Commendation for Valuable Service in the Air and again on 9th June 1949. He was sadly killed on 11th December 1949 in Canada when Mitchell HD341 crashed near Trenton and is buried at Trenton, Ontario, Canada. He was twenty seven years old.