Main image - Flight-Lieutenant M H Brown and Pilot Officer Chetham of No.1 Squadron RAF standing by the nose of a Hawker Hurricane Mark I at Wittering, Huntingdonshire. (IWM)

REASON FOR LOSS:

This aircraft was held by searchlights and pilot lost control. The abandoned aircraft dived into a small wood and was totally destroyed. P/O Chetham baled out unhurt and landed at Amersham, Buckinghamshire.

During 1990 a search for the crash site was conducted with full approval of the landowner. The site was found pretty quickly after talking with the locals. A quick metal detector scan of the area produced mostly damaged .303 ammunition. However there was a dip in the ground which was giving readings on the detector. An application to the MOD for a licence to recover the aircraft was duly sought. In 1991 we received the permission we had been waiting for and licence No.681 was issued . A search of the crash site revealed that the engine had been smashed to pieces on hitting the flinty soil of the chilterns.