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| Date: | Monday 7 July 1941 |
| Time: | 19:00 |
| Type: |  de Havilland DH.89A Dragon Rapide |
| Owner/operator: | 782 Sqn FAA RN |
| Registration: | R9563 |
| MSN: | 6491 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 6 / Occupants: 6 |
| Other fatalities: | 0 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | Kempstone Hill, near Cowie, 3 miles North of Stonehaven -
 United Kingdom
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | RNAS Hatston, Kirkwall, Orkney |
| RNAS Donibristle, Fife |
c/no 6491: Taken on charge by RAF as R9563 under Contract 26448/39 at 9 MU Cosford 26.5.40. To Royal Navy 29.8.40 and issued to 782 Squadron, at RNAS Donibristle. (First DH.89 to be delivered to the Fleet Air Arm)
Written off (destroyed) when flew into high ground in bad weather at Kempstone Hill, near Cowie, 3 miles north of Stonehaven 7.7.41; while ferrying personnel from Hatston, Kirkwall, Orkney, to Donibristle, Fife. All 6 on board (pilot, co pilot, and four passengers) were killed:
Pilot Officer Walter Cyril Jones (FX 81344) FAA RN (pilot):
Flying Officer Margaret Ethne Jean Dobson, WRNS (co-pilot and navigator)
Passengers:
Lieutenant Frederick Penrose Tennyson, RNVR (detached from 804 Sqn, FAA)
Able Seaman Leslie James Day, HMS Sparrowhawk, Service Number C/JX 201683
Mr. Charles William Young, civilian employee of Vickers Armstrong Ltd,
Mr. T. McCave (civilian)
All four military fatalies were commemorated at Douglas Bank Cemetery, Dunfermline.
Kempstone Hill is a landform in Aberdeenshire, Scotland within the Mounth Range of the Grampian Mountains. The peak elevation of this mountain is 132 metres (433 feet) above mean sea level.
Sources:
1. Royal Air Force Aircraft R1000-R9999 (James J. Halley, Air Britain, 1980 page 58)
2. https://www.ab-ix.co.uk/pdfs/dh89.pdf
3. http://www.rafcommands.com/archive/05438.php
4. https://www.baaa-acro.com/crash/crash-de-havilland-dh89-dragon-rapide-near-cowie-6-killed
5. http://www.airhistory.org.uk/dh/p064.html
6. http://www.naval-history.net/xDKCas1941-07JUL.htm
7. https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/2456925/walter-cyril-jones/
8. https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/2456899/margaret-ethne-jean-dobson/
9. https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/2456978/frederick-penrose-tennyson/
10. https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/2456896/leslie-james-day/
11. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kempstone_Hill
Location
Images:
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 04-Jan-2012 03:35 | Dr. John Smith | Added |
| 23-Jan-2012 03:53 | Nepa | Updated [Operator, ] |
| 31-Jan-2018 10:11 | Nickmac | Updated [Time, Narrative, ] |
| 19-Feb-2019 22:55 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Time, Destination airport, Source, Narrative, ] |
| 07-Feb-2024 07:12 | Gmccave | Updated [Country, Narrative, Photo, ] |
| 07-Feb-2024 07:16 | Anon. | Updated [Country, ] |
| 09-Sep-2024 12:16 | Nepa | Updated [Time, Operator, Narrative, Operator, ] |
| 18-Mar-2025 23:44 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Location, Source, Narrative, Category, ] |
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