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| Date: | Wednesday 23 August 1944 |
| Time: | 12:54 |
| Type: |  de Havilland DH.82 Tiger Moth Mk II |
| Owner/operator: | 313 Sqn RAF |
| Registration: | NL699 |
| MSN: | 81680 |
| Engine model: | de Havilland Gipsy Major |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 2 |
| Other fatalities: | 0 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | Lop Ness, Sanday Isle, Orkney, Scotland -
 United Kingdom
|
| Phase: | Take off |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | RAF Skeabrae, Orkney |
| RAF Sandey Isle, Orkney |
de Havilland DH.82 Tiger Moth MSN 86182: Taken on charge as NL699 at 15 MU RAF Wroughton 5.7.43. To 453 (Australian) Squadron, Skeabrae 12.11.43. To 602 (City of Glasgow) Squadron, Skeabrae 25.1.44. To 313 (Czechsolvak) Squadron, Skeabrae [by 8.44]
Written off (damaged beyond repair) when Stalled and crashed on take-off from Lop Ness, Sanday, Orkney 23.8.44: The pilot of this Tiger Moth, had flown up to Sanday from Skeabrae to inspect an emergency landing ground for the squadron based there, having made a successful landing on the island that afternoon it was nearing 13.00 hrs when in a gusty 20 mph wind the pilot Flt/Sgt William Hallett and a passenger, made an attempt to take off but having not gained sufficient speed, the aircraft stalled as it only just cleared a dry stone wall and crashed to the ground.
Fortunately although the aircraft was a write off, the two crew were OK. Though the pilot was quite experienced with a total of 465 hours flying time logged, he only had 6 hours on the Tiger Moth so it would be a reasonable assumption that he was unfamiliar with its handling characteristics and this may have contributed to the loss,the aircraft being much lighter and having much less power that he was used to with the Spitfires he normally flew.
Crew:
F/Sgt (1339064) William H. Hallat (Pilot, Service Number: ) RAFVR - OK
Unknown/Un-named passenger - OK
Aircraft deemed "damaged beyond economic repair" as Cat.E, and Struck off Charge 21.9.44. The reported crash location of Sanday (Scots: Sandee) is one of the inhabited islands of Orkney that lies off the north coast of mainland Scotland. With an area of 50.43 km2 (19.5 sq miles), it is the third largest of the Orkney Islands. The main centres of population are Lady Village and Kettletoft. During World War II, the Royal Air Force built a Chain Home radar station at Whale Head near Lop Ness. This necessitated the building of a large camp at Langamay to house the military personnel, which incorporated a cinema.
Note that the crash location was NOT anywhere near the present-day Sanday Airport, which was not created until 1967, some 23 years later. The crash site was at an improvised airstrip at Lop Ness which existed between 1934 and 1946. Between 1947 and 1967 there was no airports or landing strips on Sanday.
Sources:
1. Na nebi hrdého Albionu - J.Rajlich
2. No. 313 (Cs.) Squadron 1941-1945 p.13 By Phil H. Listemann
3. http://www.airhistory.org.uk/dh/p861.html
4. http://crashsiteorkney.com/orkney-land-sites.html
5. http://www.rafcommands.com/database/serials/details.php?uniq=NL699
6. https://flymag.cz/article.php?id=6171
7. https://air-britain.com/pdfs/production-lists/DH82.pdf
8. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanday,_Orkney#History
9. https://www.scottish-places.info/features/featurefirst1244.html
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 27-Apr-2008 12:35 | Nepa | Added |
| 13-Nov-2011 05:43 | Nepa | Updated [Operator, Total fatalities, Total occupants, Destination airport, Source, Narrative, ] |
| 02-Jun-2012 12:52 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Cn, Operator, Total occupants, Departure airport, Source, Narrative, ] |
| 02-Jun-2012 12:53 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Time, Nature, ] |
| 02-Jun-2012 12:55 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Phase, Narrative, ] |
| 15-Aug-2012 07:05 | Nepa | Updated [Operator, Departure airport, Destination airport, ] |
| 21-Jan-2014 15:30 | TB | Updated [Operator, Location, Source, Damage, Narrative, ] |
| 02-May-2019 01:26 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative, ] |
| 02-May-2019 01:27 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Operator, ] |
| 03-May-2019 09:48 | stehlik49 | Updated [Operator, ] |
| 23-Aug-2021 19:37 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Operator, Location, Source, Narrative, Category, ] |
| 23-Aug-2021 19:45 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Location, Source, Narrative, Category, ] |
| 24-Aug-2021 22:25 | Anon. | Updated [Time, Operator, Source, Narrative, Operator, ] |
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