Spitfire IX MJ873 near Catfoss airfield.
During the afternoon of Friday, 3rd August 1945 six No.1 Squadron Spitfires were flown on a combined formation flying exercise that then involved combat flying practic that would see them subject to a mock attack by two other Spitfires to give the pilots combat flying and then dog fighting experience, what I presume was to give the six pilots experience in attempting to take evasive action and avoid being followed by the mock-attacking aircraft. The squadron was based at Hutton Cranswick at the time. The six Spitfires undertook the formation flying part of the exercise, the two additional Spitfires then made their attack and the original six broke formation. Thirty seconds later two of these six, Spitfire MJ411 collided with Spitfire MJ873, roughly over Catfoss airfield. Spitfire MJ411 began to break up in the air and crashed killing the pilot but where MJ411 crashed is unclear though must have been in the Catfoss airfield area (near the village of Leven has been suggested). The pilot of Spitfire MJ873, Henry Scall, lost control but was able to bale out and while sustaining injuries he survived. He was admitted to Beverley Hospital though returned to the squadron on 8th August 1945. MJ873 crashed just east of the airfield boundary into a field.
Pilot - W/O Henry Scall RAFVR (1450871). Injured.
An MoD licence to excavate the crash site was granted in 2007 for Spitfire MJ411 and was excavations took place a number of times by local buisnessman Rodney Robinson in the year that followed. These digs saw both the Merlin engine and also a complete 20mm cannon recovered as well as parts of the airframe. Present at the dig that saw a cannon recovered was air historians Eric Barton and Albert Pritchard. Eric took the two photographs shown above (I can't say I agree with a small child being near the cannon with a potential live 20mm round in the breach but everyone survived so it was ok). Eric retained a few smaller parts found for his collection. These items are shown in the photographs below. Since their deaths I have been given the research of both Eric and Albert, both were under the impression that the dig they attended was to observe MJ873 being recovered and not MJ411 hence the reference to the former made by Eric on his label.
The item shown here is from the cockpit and is the positive indicator window plate from the chassis (undercarriage) selector control quadrant.
Only one man with the surname "Scall" ever served in the RAF so must be the pilot named above. He was posted out of No.1 Squadron on medical grounds during November 1945. I cannot locate either a birth registration for him in England or Wales, nor a death registration. He may have been Scottish or from somewhere entirely different.
