Spitfire crashes North Wales

[Dave Smith]

I am hoping that you gentlemen can come up with the facts on two Spitfire accidents in Bagillt, Flintshire. My informant is a local man who was an aircraft-mad schoolboy and remembers both incidents. He has also pinpoined the sites for me. One is in a field only 500 metres from my house. The problem is that published sources, including A-B serials, Aeromiltaria and Wings Across the Border, contradict one another wildly. The ORB for No 57 OTU is not helpful either, accidents being noted with little more than pilot's name and date.

It seems certain that one of the Bagillt crashes involved R7018 on 22/8/41, Crozier, an American, being killed. Aeromilitaria Winter 2003 says L1082 (Park) and R7018 (Crozier) collided over Bagillt. Another source says that Park crashed at "Bagillt, near Wrexham". This is rubbish as Wrexham is 18 miles away. However, Civil Defence records confirm that Park was killed when he crashed near Rossett and that it happened on the 22/8/41 also. Rossett is about four miles from Wrexham. My informant saw a Spitfire circling the scene after the crash and then fly off towards Hawarden. It is possible that this was Park and that he subsequently lost control of his damaged aircraft. Rossett is some way beyond Hawarden, however.

The other Spitfire may have been K9864 which collided with R6769 and crashed on the bank of the Dee near Flint on 8/5/42. R6769 limped back to Hawarden Cat A. Wings Across the Border says the pilot of K9864 was injured, whereas my informant says he was killed. THis may not be the Bagillt river bank crash but Bagillt and Flint are only about a mile apart.

Another candidate for one of the Bagillt crashes is R6829 (Sgt Bone) which collided with R7062 (Sgt Bird) over Rhosesmor. R7062 is known to have crashed near the village but it is possible that R6829 crashed at Bagilllt, less than 3 miles from Rhosesmor. Note that official records misspell the village as Rhosy-mor and variants thereof.

My brain hurts after collating all that! Will be very grateful for any detective work on my behalf as I seem to have exhausted all the likely sources of info.

[Dave Smith]

I forgot to mention that Aeromilitaria Spring 2006 says that L1082 collided with L1060 on 22/8/41. However the latter had already been lost in an accident at Hoylake, Cheshire on 28/8/40. Unusual to find duff gen like this in Aeromilitaria! By a very strange coincidence, sister ship L1061 crashed in the same area on 30/6/44 when with 61 OTU. But I digress.

[Henk Welting]

Dave,
"They Shall Grow Not Old" (Allison) has CROZIER on L1082; crashed at Bagillt.
Regards,
Henk.

[paulmcmillan]

"Aeromilitaria Spring 2006 says that L1082 collided with L1060 on 22/8/41"

"L1082 collided with L1060 this did happen but in 1939!"

L1060 overshot landing and struck L1082 21.11.39 while with 609 Sqn

Aeromilitaria Spitfire Production list has L1082 (Crozier) collided with R7018 (P/O A W Oark (sic should be Park) (South Africa)) on 22/8/41"

[Dave Smith]

Thanks for that Henk. I assume that the author of They Shall Not Grow Old was working from RCAF records so that serial number should be accurate. Crozier, although an American from Maine, joined the RCAF before the USA joined the war.

And thanks to Paul as well for that information. I can now see how the confusion arose!