ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 233949
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| Date: | Friday 3 September 1954 |
| Time: | day |
| Type: |  De Havilland DH.82A Tiger Moth |
| Owner/operator: | Ramsgate Flying Club |
| Registration: | G-ANEX |
| MSN: | 84541 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | North Sea, North Foreland, 3 miles off Margate, Isle of Thanet, Kent -
 United Kingdom
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Private |
| Departure airport: | Ramsgate Airport, Ramsgate, Kent (X2RT) |
| Confidence Rating: |  Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources |
De Havilland DH.82A Tiger Moth MSN 84541; Taken on charge as T6050 at 18 EFTS RAF Fairoaks, Chobham, Surrey 29.4.41, later coded "FIS-I". To 18 RFS RAF Fairoaks, Chobham, Surrey 26.6.47, coded "RCT-S". To 15 RFS RAF Redhill, Surrey 6.11.48, coded "RCD-K", later “30”. To 9 MU RAF Cosford Wolverhampton, Staffordshire 14.8.52 for storage pending disposal. Struck off charge when sold 16.10.53 to Association of British Aero Clubs
First civil registered (C of R R4168/1) on 10.10.53 as G-ANEX to Wing Commander Hugh Charles Kennard DFC. Maidstone, Kent. Operated by Ramsgate Flying Club. C of A A.4168 issued 12.5.54.
Written off (damaged beyond repair) 3.9.54 when crashed into the North Sea, North Foreland, three miles off Margate, Isle of Thanet, Kent, while on a flight from Ramsgate. The pilot was rescued, with minor injuries. A contemporary local newspaper report has further details ("East Kent Times" - Saturday 4 September 1954):
"Crowds lining the cliff tops at Kingsgate, on Friday afternoon, watched a drama enacted as an American piloted Tiger Moth, one of two on flights from Ramsgate Airport, made a forced landing in the sea over half a mile from shore, and started to sink. Within seconds, a small white painted motorboat cruising in the vicinity raced to the sinking plane, and a passing French fishing vessel hove to in case assistance was needed. Maroons sounding in Margate sent the town's lifeboat and a pilot cutter racing seawards, and overhead the second Tiger Moth was joined by a swarm of other aircraft, which included an Albatross amphibian, a helicopter, an R A.F. Meteor nightfghter, a U.S.A.F. Shooting Star jet, and an Avro Lincoln R.A.F. Coastal Command plane.
The pilot of the crashed plane, Airman 2nd Class Robert Patterson, of Palm Beach, Florida, was taken aboard the white motor-boat, which then took in tow the Moth, which was still afloat. When the Margate rescue contingent arrived the pilot cutter took in tow both the white boat and the plane, and started back towards Margate.
The pilot of the second Tiger Moth, Airman 1st Class Hershel Wright, told the "East Kent Times" he did not see the other plane for about ten minutes, then saw him gilding down into the water. Wright circled round until he saw the white boat fish the pilot out and take the plane in tow. The white boat was later identified as the "Wanda" of Margate, owned by Leonard Richard "Taffy" Rooke, a Margate lifeboatman.
Lifeboat Coxswain Dennis Price told the "East Kent Times," when the Margate vessel returned, "Rooke is towing the plane, which seems to be intact, tail first, with part of the propellor submerged, and he is being assisted by the pilot boat 'Foreness.' Our services were not necessary once I saw the pilot was O.K. He seemed perfectly happy, grinning cheerfully, and his clothes did not seem to be even damp. I don't think he actually was in the water at all. He was in uniform. The crashed plane was later towed into Palm Bay and beached".
Registration G-ANEX cancelled 13.10.54 due to "destruction or permanent withdrawl from use of aircraft"
Sources:
1. Royal Air Force Aircraft T1000-V9999 (James J Halley, Air Britain)
2. East Kent Times" - Saturday 4 September 1954
3. Belfast News-Letter - Saturday 04 September 1954:
4. https://cwsprduksumbraco.blob.core.windows.net/g-info/HistoricalLedger/G-ANEX.pdf
5. http://www.airhistory.org.uk/dh/p845.html
6. http://sussexhistoryforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=15948.06050
7. https://air-britain.com/pdfs/production-lists/DH82.pdf
8. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Foreland
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 13-Mar-2020 16:54 | Dr. John Smith | Added |
| 13-Oct-2021 17:47 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Operator, Location, Source, Narrative, Category] |
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