Aircraft Crashes Within Perthshire in the 1930s
8 February 1936
Whilst undertaking a training exercise at Scone Aerodrome (with Airwork Ltd), Acting Pilot Officer James Beck (22) was killed when his de Havilland DH.82A Tiger Moth (G-ADVO) collided with another Tiger Moth (G-ADOK). Those onboard G-ADOK escaped without injury.
18 February 1939
Newly commissioned Auxiliary Pilot Officer Ingram Edward Pease (24) of No. 603 Squadron RAF, was killed when his Hawker Hind Mk. 1 (K6819) crashed in poor visibility (due to mist) in the Lomond Hills. The crash site is at Bishop Hill, east of Wester Balgedie (not far from Loch Leven’s Larder farm shop/restaurant).
This was not the first ‘death in uniform’ to befall the Pease family. Captain Christopher York Pease died during the Great War (9 May 1918) when Ingram was but 3 months of age; Arthur Peter Pease, Ingram’s cousin, perished during the Battle of Britain flying with No. 603 Squadron RAF. Ingram Pease is buried at St Oswald’s Church Graveyard, Newton under Roseberry, North Yorkshire.
5 July 1939
A de Havilland DH.82A Tiger Moth (L6931) of No. 11 EFTS (RAF
Perth) collided with a hillside at Craigvinean, Dalguise, near Dunkeld while
flying during a thunderstorm and in very poor visibility. The plane’s pilot,
Allan Gardiner of Cheadle Hume, near Manchester, was later found dead in the
burned wreckage by 2 local policemen who had formed part of a substantial
search effort. He was 19 years old. Despite having spent 10 hours finding the
missing plane, the 2 police officers remained at the crash site until the next
morning when the body was removed. After Gardiner’s plane went missing, 20
aircraft were scrambled to search for it. The search was extremely difficult
and hazardous due to the conditions with very low visibility (as low as 50 to
100 feet above ground level). So bad were the conditions that 2 of the search
aircraft – one piloted by Hugh Black (who landed by Alyth) and the other by
Pilot Officer Winning (who landed by Meigle) – were forced to make emergency
landings.
Aerial Activity Within & Close to Perthshire Airspace during the Second World War
16 October 1939
Junkers 88A-1 4D+AK, 1/KG.30 shot down by RAF 602 Squadron (City of Glasgow) Supermarine Spitfires off Elie, west of Crail, East Neuk of Fife at 14.45/55pm. Three of the four crew were killed. This was the second JU 88 to be brought down during the Battle of the River Forth. The survivor Helmut Pohle later helped Franz von Werra to escape for the first time from No. 1 POW Camp, Grizedale Hall Lake District (The One That Got Away, 1957 movie starring Hardy Krüger).
7 December 1939
2 Heinkel He 111-H3 bombers part of an armed reconnaissance mission of 3 Heinkel’s were shot down over the Tay Estuary by Spitfires from RAF 603 Squadron (City of Edinburgh) out of RAF Montrose and RAF 72 Squadron out of RAF Leuchars.
18 December 1939
RAF 603 squadron intercepted a raid of seven enemy aircraft heading for the Tay and chased them out to sea.
13 January 1939
Heinkel He 111 shot down of Fife Ness, one survivor.
29 January 1940
Heinkel He 111 attacked a trawler in the Firth of Tay and was driven off by Spitfires.
30 January 1940
German aircraft attacked shipping waiting to enter the Firth of Tay. Four bombs dropped and one ship, the SS Stancourt, was strafed by a Heinkel which made repeated passes.
9 February 1940
The hopper barge Foremost 102 was bombed and strafed. The crew of the Arbroath Lifeboat took off the crew for which they received gallantry awards from the RNLI. Foremost 102 was towed to Dundee with an unexploded bomb in her hold.
7 May 1941
A Junkers Ju 88 was shot down over the Tay Estuary by No. 43 Squadron RAF.
28 August 1943
A Junkers Ju 88 was shot down by anti-aircraft fire over the
Firth of Tay.
Aircraft Crashes Within & Close to Perthshire – During WW2
24 November 1940
Whilst assigned to convoy escort duties in the Atlantic, an Armstrong Whitley V (P5090) Y(G-L) of No. 502 Squadron, RAF Coastal Command, out of RAF Limavady, Derry, crashed into a hillside at Bealach Stacach, in the Trossachs, just west of Fathen Glinnie. The crash site is located about 2 miles south of Loch Doine and some 6 miles west of Strathyre. Pieces of burned wreckage still lie there today and the crash site is easily spotted.
The aircraft had become lost in bad weather and had considerably overshot RAF Limavady. Only one crew member, Sergeant William Stanley Hamilton, RAFVR (an air gunner), survived the crash. The other crew members died and are buried in Grandsable Cemetery, Grangemouth:
Sergeant William John Barnfather (754627) RAFVR, pilot.
Sergeant John James Westoby (741729) RAFVR (21), pilot.
Pilot Officer John Whitsed (758109) RAFVR, observer.
Sergeant James Gerrard Curtis (22) (943020) RAFVR, wireless operator/air gunner.
Sergeant Jack Perfect (19) (942632) RAFVR, wireless operator/air gunner.
10 March 1941
A Mk 1 Spitfire (X4647) being ferried from RAF Northolt to RAF Grangemouth crashed in a snow-covered inaccessible location in the proximity of Loch Tay, near Ben Ledi. The burned-out aircraft was spotted 2 days after the crash. The body of Sergeant Kenneth Ernest Frank Purcell (22) of the RAFVR was recovered the day after. Purcell is buried in Ford Park Cemetery, Plymouth.
15 April 1941
Whilst on patrol from No. 233 Squadron RAF, a Lockheed Hudson Mk. III (T9432) out of RAF Alder grove Coastal Command (Antrim) crashed in bad weather on Ben Lui, near Tyndrum. All 4-crew members died in the crash:
Flight Sergeant Douglas Eric Green, (742597) RAFVR, buried in Milton Cemetery, Portsmouth.
Sergeant Frederick Victor Norman Lown (21) (748548) RAFVR, buried in Hither Green Cemetery, London.
Sergeant Leonard Alfred Aylott (32) (747979) RAFVR, buried in St John the Baptist Churchyard, Buckhurst Hill, Essex.
Sergeant Wilfred Alan Rooks (28) (759349) RAFVR, buried in Tiverton Cemetery, Devon.
1 August 1941
A Mk 1A Supermarine Spitfire (X4777), of No. 58 OTU RAF out of RAF Grangemouth, piloted by Pilot Officer R. F. Minnick (22) (J/5340) of the RCAF, collided in mid-air just outside Dunblane with a second Spitfire (R2076), piloted by Sergeant J. W. Walton. Minnick was killed; Walton was unhurt. Minnick is buried in Grandsable Cemetery, Grangemouth.
18 August 1941
Sergeant Bohumil Sima (25) (787535 – L-375), a Czechoslovakian national assigned to and training with No. 58 OTU RAF, was killed during a training exercise. Flying his Spitfire (N3099) out of RAF Grangemouth, while undertaking ‘direction finding homing’ practice, Sima spun out of cloud before crashing his aircraft near to Ballinluig. Sima is buried in Grangemouth Grandsable Cemetery.
4 September 1941
Sergeant David Colburn Johnston (24) from Birmingham, an RAFVR pilot flying a Spitfire (R6789) crashed at Callander, near to the River Teith. He had imperfectly made a right-hand roll resulting in him crashing the aircraft, which came down near the A81 road (opposite Callander Primary School). Johnston is buried in Grangemouth Grandsable Cemetery.
5 September 1941
Sergeant R. Brady (21) (1066638) RAFVR crashed his Spitfire (X4254) near Auchterarder. Brady had descended within cloud to determine his position and crashed into high ground. He is buried in St Bridget’s churchyard, Moresby in Cumberland (Cumbria).
20 October 1941
Sergeant Ronald Joseph ‘Digger’ Gardiner (RAFVR 932502) crashed his Spitfire (R6760) at around 12:15 hours near Strathallan Army Camp. Gardiner had been undertaking practice in aerobatics, low flying, and low-level landing when his aircraft went into a shallow dive and crashed killing Gardiner. He is buried in Cheshunt New Burial Ground (Waltham Cross).
11 November 1941
Sergeant Alison Boyce McKie of the RCAF (R72679) flying a Spitfire (L1083) was engaged in a formation-flying exercise with another Spitfire (piloted by Sergeant Argue). During the exercise, McKie’s Spitfire disappeared from view. McKie’s body was later discovered at Loch Tay. He is buried in Grangemouth Grandsable Cemetery.
19 January 1942
During a training flight from RAF 20 OTU (RAF Lossiemouth), a Vickers Wellington Mk. 1C (R1646) crashed into a hill south of Braemar at a location about 2 miles north of the Glenshee Ski Centre. The winter of 1941/2 was a particularly bad one and has been described as one of the coldest of that century. Inclement conditions were difficult, temperatures low, and snowfall heavy, which meant it took several weeks to locate the downed aircraft. It was finally found by a gamekeeper from the Invercauld Estate on 19 February 1942. Six of the Wellington’s complement of 8 are buried in Dyce Old Churchyard (near RAF Dyce – today Aberdeen Airport) on 2 March 1942. Thomson’s and Jackson’s bodies were not recovered until 15 April 1942 and were buried alongside the rest of the crew on 17 April 1942:
Flight Officer James Williamson Thomson, DFC (25) (40667) RNZAF.
Sergeant Robert James Jackson (21) (R83904) RCAF.
Flight Sergeant Harry Joseph Kelley (23) (R/76125) RCAF.
Sergeant John Bernard Riley (23) (995062) RAFVR.
Sergeant Beaumont Churchill Dickson (22) (404634) RAAF.
Sergeant Roy Alistair Milliken (22) (404637) RAAF.
Sergeant Michael Henry John Kilburn (19) (1380631) RAFVR.
Sergeant William Morphet Greenbank (20) (1029811) RAFVR.
In November 1943, Greenbank was reinterred in his hometown, in St Mary’s Cemetery, Windermere. In January of 1943, Kilburn was also reinterred – in Green Lane Cemetery, Farnham, Surrey.
Andy Brown (15), who was a local participant in the first search party that looked for the Wellington, never forgot about those who lost their lives in the crash. In later life, he organised the retrieval of the aircraft’s 2 Bristol Pegasus engines, one of which was to be used as part of a supplementary war memorial at Braemar. It was unveiled on 23 August 2003.
2 March 1942
First Officer William Silver Edgar was ferrying an Airspeed Oxford Mk I (L4597) of No. 4 Ferry Pilots’ Pool in poor weather from Cambridge to No. 45 Maintenance Unit (MU) at RAF Kinloss. Over Rannoch Moor, the aircraft’s starboard engine failed, which meant Edgar was unable to preserve altitude. He force-landed the Oxford on Loch Laidon, to the west of Rannoch (near Glencoe). Due to its momentum, the aircraft only came to a complete halt upon reaching the loch’s southern shoreline. At this point, the aircraft caught fire and was consumed by the blaze. Edgar himself was unharmed and traversed the moor on foot, arriving a day later at Rannoch Station. Sadly, Edgar was killed on 2 April 1942 when his Spitfire Mk Vb (BM358) en route from Prestwick to Kinloss crashed in Aberdeenshire. Edgar, a citizen of the USA, is buried in Cambridge American Cemetery.
In 1978, the 2 Armstrong Siddeley Cheetah engines of the Airspeed Oxford were retrieved from the moor. The engines were restored, and one was put on display at Bamburgh Castle, Northumberland.
24 March 1942
An Armstrong Whitworth Whitley (Z6933) of RAF 19 OTU out of RAF Forres crashed during a navigation exercise. The aircraft came down on Finalty Hill, Angus, just north of Glen Isla and Glen Prosen killing all 7 on board, all of whom are buried in Sleepyhillock Cemetery, Montrose:
Pilot Officer Robert Eric Wheatley, DFM (28) (110568) RAFVR.
Sergeant Donald Frank Drake (24) (R/88694) RCAF.
Sergeant George Kenneth MacRae (21) RCAF.
Pilot Officer Ronald Renshaw Flint (24) (111936) RAFVR.
Sergeant Frank Jennings (20) (994287) RAFVR.
Sergeant Alan Blackman (20) (917077) RAFVR.
Sergeant Jack Sutcliff (29) (1060163) RAFVR.
16 April 1942
Sergeant Lloyd Livingstone Armour (R/101320) (21) and Sergeant James Richard Waclaw Derzona (R/101835) (20), both RCAF, perished when their Miles M.9 Master 2-seater advanced monoplane trainer crashed near Kirriemuir, Angus. Armour from British Columbia had been undertaking a ‘special instructors’ course at RAF Perth (RAF No. 11 EFTS) at the time of his death. Fellow Canadian Derzona hailed from Winnipeg. Both are buried in Wellshill Cemetery, Perth.
21 April 1942
Just above Dron Hill, by Bridge of Earn, 2 Mk 1A Spitfires from 58 OTU RAF based at RAF Grangemouth engaged in ‘dogfighting’ exercises collided. N3100, piloted by Pilot Officer Richard Frederick Short (69480) cut off the tail of P9545, piloted by Sergeant Mel L. Tushingham (1071855), who quickly bailed out of his disabled aircraft. Both pilots survived the incident and went on to further service, Tushingham with No. 111 Squadron RAF at El Alamein, and Short with No. 152 Squadron RAF.
14 August 1942
De Havilland DH.82A Tiger Moth, N6841 MSN 82090 (Gipsy Major #81022) was written off when it stalled at 300 feet and crashed at Dunning. Pilot Officer R F Humphries was injured, and Leading Aircraftman Chasney was uninjured.
The aircraft was from RAF Perth (Scone), No. 11 Elementary Flying Training School and was struck off charge on 20 August 1942 as FACE (Flying Accident Cat. E). Previously it was taken on charge at No. 10 MU (Maintenance Unit), RAF Hullavington, Chippenham, Wiltshire on 23 May 1939. It was transferred to RAF 612 Squadron (County of Aberdeen) at RAF Dyce on 13 November 1939 and operated by No. 1 Coastal Patrol Flight. From there to No. 46 MU, RAF Lossiemouth on 3 July 1940 and the No. 11 EFTS at RAF Perth on 23 April 1941.
RAF 612 Squadron used unarmed Tiger Moth’s to patrol the coast on anti-invasion patrols and ‘scarecrow’ patrols against enemy submarines in the North Sea. U-Boats sighting these aircraft dived without waiting to discover whether they were capable of attack. It was a bluff tactic used in the early days of the war when there was a shortage of combat capable aircraft and undoubtedly saved much shipping.
15 August 1942
A de Havilland DH.82 Tiger Moth out of RAF Perth crashed after entering a flat spin from which the pilot could not recover. Both the aircraft’s occupants bailed out successfully and survived.
17 September 1942
Flight Lieutenant David Fergus Hamilton (28) (37933) RAFO died when his Hawker Hurricane Mk. 1 (Z4180) dived into the ground at high speed. The crash site is by Castle Law, near Culteuchar Hill, Forgandenny. The Hurricane was part of a section of RAF 56 OTU which had relocated to RAF Tealing (near Dundee) from RAF Sutton Bridge in March 1942.
Prior to the commencement of the Second World War, Hamilton had served as a civilian instructor of the Reserve of Air Force Officers (RAFO) having undertaken at least 4 years as a commissioned pilot in the RAF. It is surmised that Hamilton lost consciousness due to anoxia (deficient supply of oxygen to the tissues) with the failure of his supplementary oxygen system during a climb to 25,000 feet. He is buried in Southgate Cemetery, London.
6 October 1942
Within the archives of the de Havilland aircraft company is the record of a DH.82A Tiger Moth (T7361) being abandoned (by its trainee pilot and their instructor) after its port wing collapsed during an aerobatics routine at RAF Methven.
Note: Abandoning a Tiger Moth in mid-air was a rather unusual occurrence.
23 December 1942
Above Bathepburn Farm, by Elcho Castle (Rhynd), 4 miles southeast of Perth, a Fairey Swordfish (K8407) of No. 9 PAFU (RAF Errol) collided with de Havilland DH.82 Tiger Moth (BB685) of RAF No. 11 EFTS (RAF Perth). Both Tiger Moth’s crew – Sergeant (Pilot) Robert Baxter Neilson (27) (1370210), instructor, and Leading Aircraftman (pilot under training) Kenneth Bell Hunter (26) (1672053), were killed in the collision. The fate of the Swordfish pilot is unconfirmed, though he is listed as also killed in the accident. Neilson is buried in Motherwell Dalziel (Airbles) Cemetery; Hunter at Harrogate (Stonefall) Cemetery.
16 January 1943
King’s Seat Hill, near Dollar, was the scene of an accident involving 3 Spitfires from 58 OTU RAF based at RAF Grangemouth. Flying Officer ‘Bud’ Hugh Gordon Reynolds (20) (J/9465) and Sergeant
‘Gordie’ Gordon Murray Duda (20) (R/128862), both RCAF, and Sergeant ‘Vin’ Vincent Patrick Daly (21) (AUS/408634) of the RAAF, were taking part in formation-flying training exercises above the Ochils. Reynolds in AR254 was flight leader that day and at about 11:45 hours led the other 2 Spitfires – Duda’s X4614 and Daly’s P8276 into cloud. As the aircraft emerged from the cloud 5 minutes’ later, they found themselves moving rapidly towards a hill and despite attempts to climb, all 3 Spitfires crashed into the 648-metre-high King’s Seat Hill. Only Daly survived. He managed to clamber to Duda’s Spitfire but found his fellow pilot dead. Australian born Daly suffering horrendous injuries to his back, face, right tibia, scalp, and lacerations to many parts of his body, dragged himself down the hill. Some 48 hours later, he was found suffering with frostbite by a shepherd. Reynolds and Duda are buried in Grangemouth Grandsable Cemetery. Daly required specialist medical care and plastic (re-constructive) surgery and spent time at Larbert Naval Hospital, the Queen Victoria Hospital, East Grinstead, and Princess Mary’s RAF Hospital, Halton, before repatriation to Australia where he lived until his death in 1969. On the eastern side of the hill, a memorial cairn has been raised in recognition of the tragic triple Spitfire crash.
RAF 58 OTU triple aircraft crash crews image Courtesy Patricia Katherine Svinth Brammer
3 June 1943
On this day, a Taylorcraft Auster Mk III (MZ124) observation aircraft attached to No. 652 Squadron RAF was making its approach to RAF Methven when it got into difficulties entering an area of thermal currents. The aircraft crashed into a wood.
13 June 1943
Flight Sergeant Mark Charles Burton and Sub-Lieutenant W. G. Claque died when the Miles Master II (Dl966) crashed during a flight training exercise (No. 9 PAFU (RAF Errol)) by Jordanstone House, south of Alyth. Burton hailed from Redcar, Claque from Douglas, Isle of Man.
31 May 1944
A Handley Page Halifax (LL414) 4-engine heavy bomber out of RAF Sandtoft, Lincolnshire, taking part in night-time cross-country training came down in the vicinity of Glen Isla, about 16 miles north of Blairgowrie. It is believed that the aircraft suffered one or more engine failures causing it to spiral out of control. On board were 8 crew, 6 of Canadian birth. All lost their lives in the tragedy:
Pilot Officer Leslie Llewellyn Williams (22) (J/85856) RCAF.
Sergeant Sidney William Doughty (20) (933062) RAFVR.
Sergeant John Arthur Treby (19) (1867730) RAFVR.
Flight Officer William Campbell (22) (J/35226) RCAF (born to Scottish parents).
Flight Sergeant Robert Trevor Dean (22) (R/181350) RCAF.
Warrant Officer Class 1 James Stewart MacDonald (28) RCAF.
Sergeant Thomas Goldie (21) (R/215319) RCAF.
Sergeant Vernon Thomas Sherven (20) (R/211938).
Doughty is buried in Rippleside Cemetery, Barking, Campbell at Uphall Cemetery, West Lothian, and the others at Sleepyhillock Cemetery, Montrose.
8 November 1944
Another Handley Page Halifax (LK901) out of RAF Sandtoft, Lincolnshire, also undertaking a night-time cross-country training exercise broke apart in mid-air and came down close to Glenshee Post Office, 20 miles north of Blairgowrie. All 7 crew members perished, 6 of whom were Australian, and are buried in Sleepyhillock Cemetery, Montrose:
Flight Officer Arthur Wallace Spencer-Maggs (24) (439657) RAAF.
Pilot Officer William Alexander Edmonds 26) (19882) RAAF.
Flight Sergeant Arthur Wallace Cooke (33) (1510) RAAF.
Flight Sergeant Jeffrey James Grieve (26) (419307) RAAF.
Flight Sergeant Keith Edward Jeffrey (24) (38363) RAAF.
Flight Sergeant Charles Bede Mackay (19) (439896) RAAF.
Flight Sergeant Walter Picton (3000833) RAFVR, the flight engineer, is buried in Hertford Road Cemetery, Enfield.
Research by Ken Bruce