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| Date: | Thursday 20 April 1939 |
| Time: | |
| Type: |  Supermarine Spitfire Mk I |
| Owner/operator: | 41 Sqn RAF |
| Registration: | K9848 |
| MSN: | 61 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1 |
| Other fatalities: | 0 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | 4 miles north-west of RAF Catterick, North Yorkshire, England -
 United Kingdom
|
| Phase: | Approach |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | RAF Catterick, North Yorkshire |
| RAF Catterick |
Supermarine Spitfire K9848 (c/n 61 - the 61st production Spitfire)
19/01/39: First flown at Eastleigh, Southampton, Hampshire.
26/01/39: Delivered to 41 Squadron at RAF Catterick, North Yorkshire.
30/04/39: Written off when engine failed on approach and aircraft crashed in a forced landing, struck a fence and overturned, 4 miles northwest of Catterick, North Yorkshire. Crew: Sgt J. GILLIES (pilot) RAF : Ok
17/05/39: Struck Off Charge as declared to have been damaged beyond economic repair. Total Flying Hours 23:35.
According to the Air Accident Card (AM Form 1180, RAF Museum), the aircraft landed flaps up and undercarriage down, struck a fence and overturned, 4 miles NW of Catterick, Yorkshire. The pilot was 519573 Sgt James 'Jack' Gillies. It was his second flight and third flying hour on the Spitfire, and the accident investigation considered the blame lay in the pilot being "unfamiliar with [the] Spitfire's gliding angle using flaps".
Gillies became an accomplished Spitfire and Hurricane pilot who served throughout the Battle of Britain and was awarded a DFM in May 1941. He was commissioned in November 1941 and sent to India in 1942. Posted to 79 Sqn as a Flight Commander in 1943, he was awarded a Military Cross in February 1945 for finding an ammunition dump at Indaw on foot, then marking it from the air for bombers to attack between late March and early April 44.
Gillies was hit by Japanese anti-aircraft fire and crashed in a rice paddy at SG.265350, in Burma, on 21 April 1944. The aircraft was partially destroyed by fire but his body was not recovered. He is remembered on the Singapore Memorial and was 29 years old when killed.
Sources:
1. Royal Air Force Aircraft K1000-K9999 (James J. Halley, Air Britain, 1976 page 79)
2. http://www.airhistory.org.uk/spitfire/p001.html
3. http://www.rafcommands.com/forum/showthread.php?12516-41-Sq-Spitfire-forced-landing-before-WW2-N.Yorkshire
4. http://allspitfirepilots.org/aircraft/K9848
5. AM Form 1180, Air Accident Card, RAF Museum
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 05-Jan-2011 22:33 | angels one five | Added |
| 25-Dec-2011 04:17 | Nepa | Updated [Aircraft type, Operator, Location, Narrative, ] |
| 10-Jan-2012 15:11 | angels one five | Updated [Aircraft type, Registration, Cn, Operator, Location, ] |
| 15-Jan-2012 01:51 | Nepa | Updated [Aircraft type, Operator, Location, Nature, Departure airport, ] |
| 22-Jan-2012 19:09 | angels one five | Updated [Aircraft type, Narrative, ] |
| 05-May-2012 11:02 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Aircraft type, Registration, Cn, Operator, Total fatalities, Total occupants, Other fatalities, Location, Phase, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative, ] |
| 30-May-2012 00:34 | Nepa | Updated [Operator, Location, ] |
| 04-Nov-2012 03:41 | angels one five | Updated [Aircraft type, Location, Nature, Source, Narrative, ] |
| 22-Oct-2013 15:01 | JINX | Updated [Aircraft type, Operator, Location, Departure airport, Destination airport, Narrative, ] |
| 18-Dec-2013 18:19 | Nepa | Updated [Operator, ] |
| 19-Jan-2014 23:20 | angels one five | Updated [Aircraft type, Operator, Narrative, ] |
| 06-Jun-2015 20:04 | Gun | Updated [Operator, Location, Departure airport, ] |
| 26-Jan-2018 02:01 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Nature, Source, ] |
| 26-Mar-2018 20:56 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Time, Location, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative, ] |
| 11-Oct-2019 22:18 | angels one five | Updated [Aircraft type, ] |
| 06-Feb-2021 21:15 | angels one five | Updated [Narrative, ] |
| 09-May-2022 07:03 | Steve Brew | Updated [Source, Narrative, ] |
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