Date:	Thursday 16 June 1938
Time:	12:35 LT
Type:	Gloster Gladiator Mk I
Owner/operator:	54 Sqn RAF
Registration:	K7933
MSN:
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	Sea off Leysdown Gunnery Ranges, near Eastchurch, Kent -   United Kingdom
Phase:	En route
Nature:	Military
Departure airport:	RAF Hornchurch, Essex
Destination airport:
Confidence Rating:	Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources

Narrative:
Gloster Gladiator Mk.I K7933: Delivered new from the manufacturers on 19/5/37 to RAF Hornchurch, and assigned to 54 Squadron. Written off (destroyed) 16/6/38: Propeller damaged by own bullets over range & engine broke away, crashed into sea off the Leysdown Gunnery Ranges, near RAF Eastchurch, Isle of Sheppey, Kent. Crew: Sergeant Reginald Malcolm Marsh (pilot, aged 23) RAF killed. According to published sources (see link #4):

"Thursday 16th June 1938 - with war clouds gathering on the horizon, many Squadrons of the Royal Air Force were increasing their training regimes and taking part in mobilisation exercises. No.54 Squadron, flying Gloster Gladiator biplanes, was briefed to fly from Hornchurch to the Leysdown Ranges at Eastchurch, Isle of Sheppey, discharge all ammunition and then return for the Squadron to be turned around as quickly as possible. The ammunition in each Gladiator consisted of 600 rounds for each fuselage gun and 400 rounds each for the wing guns. 54 Squadron had been having issues with the synchronisation of their fuselage guns (firing through the arc of the airscrew) and had suffered damage to eight separate propellers back in exercises at Sutton Bridge in April.

Gladiator K7933, flown by Sergeant R.M. Marsh, had twice had the airscrew changed due to the machine gun bullets damaging one blade - it was found that the port fuselage gun occasionally fired unsynchronised shots and so this particular weapon was replaced on 8th May 1938. A representative of the Royal Small Arms Factory at Enfield modified the firing pin of one gun, tested the weapon and once the modification was deemed satisfactory it was incorporated into the firing pins of all of the guns on 54 Squadron Gladiators.

On the day of the accident the pilot of K7933 left Hornchurch at 12:25 in a flight of three Gladiators led by the Flight Commander. They proceeded to Leysdown Ranges and immediately started the firing practice. Being on the right, he attacked the target on the right of the line (No.6 target) and turned away after firing. After four or five dives at the targets the Flight Commander, who had fired all his ammunition (apart from one gun which had suffered a stoppage), instructed the other pilots to continue until they had finished and then rejoin him for the return flight. They accordingly continued attacking the targets, diving from about 2000 feet to 500 feet.

On the second of these attacks, some parts of Gladiator K7933 were seen to become detached, the machine rolled and plunged into the sea. RAF personnel on shore immediately entered the water, and a motor launch soon reached the scene of the crash. Sergeant Marsh's body, attached to his partially unpacked parachute, was found a short distance from the wreckage - he had evidently been badly injured before he left the aircraft.

The wreckage of the Gladiator was brought ashore at low tide that evening, including the engine that had become separated and also one blade from the airscrew. The parts that had been observed coming away immediately prior to the crash were found on land near the foreshore - they consisted of pieces of cowling from the engine and the greater part of one blade of the airscrew.

On subsequent examination of that blade it was proved that it had been pierced by at least thirteen bullets from one or both of the fuselage guns. The other blade recovered from the water had not been affected in this way. The condition of the wreckage was consistent with the engine having become detached from the airframe before impact.

Both fuselage guns had been damaged in the crash to the extent that they couldn't be tested as complete units, but the barrels, breech blocks, sears and firing pins were cleaned and fitted into another Browning and tested on the butts at Enfield. The test involved firing two bursts of 100 rounds each through a disc revolving at 900 r.p.m. The starboard gun proved satisfactory, but the port gun operated most irregularly when firing bursts of 100 rounds - on every occasion a large number of bullets pierced the disc at distances well separated from the main groups.

The opinion of the Accident Investigator was as follows:

a) The accident was due to bullets from the port fuselage gun damaging one of the blades of the airscrew to such an extent that it broke away. The unbalanced forces thus set up resulted in the engine being torn from its mounting, the airframe structure receiving considerable damage and the aircraft, consequently, being rendered uncontrollable.

b) The gun synchronizing mechanism operated normally and was properly timed, but the port fuselage gun fired irregularly owing to the sear often slipping off the 'bent' of the firing pin, thus allowing the gun to fire without the trigger being actuated.

c) The slipping of the sear must be attributed to malformation of the firing pin 'bent', this having been filed out-of-truth by personnel of the Squadron when attempting to carry out a duly authorised modification."

By the time the pilots rescuers had swum and rowed out to him, he had died and the aircraft was sinking below the waves. At low tide, the body of the pilot, along with the airframe and engine were recovered, but with two propeller blades missing. His body was eventually buried with full military honours at Leysdown St Clement churchyard. Wreck of K7933 was sent to 1 Air Armament School, 20/11/38: Struck Off Charge.

1. Air Britain The K File The RAF of the 1930s by James J Halley, Air Britin, 1995
2. 'Flight' for 23 June 1938 page 621
3. Chelmsford Chronicle - Friday 24th June 1938
4. http://www.rcawsey.co.uk/Acc1939.htm
5. http://www.rafcommands.com/archive/05091.php
6. http://sussexhistoryforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=1711.0;wap2
7. https://www.rafhornchurch.com/history/inter-war-years/
7. http://surfcity.kund.dalnet.se/gladiator_raf_54.htm
8. The Sydney Morning Herald (Sat 18 June 1938) Page 11 at https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/17492929/1180503
9. http://sussexhistoryforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=4010.0

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
13-Oct-2009 16:55	JINX	Added
09-Jun-2015 17:42	Angel dick one	Updated [Operator, Narrative]
27-Feb-2018 12:01	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Time, Location, Phase, Departure airport, Source, Narrative]
13-Mar-2018 19:07	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Source, Narrative]
15-Feb-2020 21:25	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Source, Narrative]