Operation: Training

Date: 2 January 1943 (Saturday)

Unit: No. 53 Operational Training Unit (OTU)

Type: Supermarine Spitfire I

Serial: X4854 (1)

Code: —

Base: RAF Llandow, Glamorgan, Wales (2)

Location: Bristol Channel, off Whitmore Stairs, near Dunraven Castle, Glamorgan, Wales

Crew

Pilot: Sgt. Jack Gordon Stewart Bell, 409496, RAAF, Age 20 — Killed

Reason for Loss

Sergeant Bell had been detailed to carry out cloud flying, local reconnaissance and D/F homing exercises. Flight Lieutenant John Plagis, D.F.C., Officer Commanding “B” Flight, authorised the flight on 2 January 1943, and Sergeant Bell signed the Authorisation Book as having understood his instructions. Flying Spitfire I X4854, he took off from RAF Llandow at 14:15 hours.

At about 15:45 hours the duty pilot received information from the Nash Point lighthouse keeper that an aircraft had dived into the sea near Whitmore Stairs, close to Dunraven Castle, during a heavy isolated shower. Pieces were seen falling away from the aircraft before it struck the water. A search was carried out between Nash Point and Dunraven Castle, and at low water the wreckage of Spitfire X4854 was found approximately 150 yards from the foreshore. Sergeant Bell was killed; his body was subsequently recovered from the sea.

The Flying Accident Report recorded that the primary cause of the accident was loss of control while flying in violent atmospheric perturbations, which led to an uncontrolled spiral dive, an attempt to pull out at great speed, and the final disintegration of the aircraft in the air. The Court of Inquiry concluded that Sergeant Bell had most probably flown into cloud with a base lower than the 4,000 feet permitted by standing orders, contrary to his instructions, and on encountering difficulty had pulled out of the resulting dive so roughly that the starboard mainplane failed structurally.

Court of Inquiry — Witness Evidence

Flight Lieutenant John Plagis, D.F.C., Officer Commanding “B” Flight, stated that on 2 January 1943 he had authorised Sergeant J. G. Bell to fly X4854 for cloud flying, local reconnaissance and D/F homings, and that Bell had signed the Authorisation Book accordingly. He described Bell as an average pilot all round and a very keen pupil, whose general conduct was above average.

Aircraftman 2nd Class Charlton (1616745), Fitter II Engines, stated that he had signed the Daily Inspection in Form 700 on 1 January 1943 for aircraft X4854.

Aircraftman 1st Class Carter (1032349), Fitter II Airframes, stated that he had carried out the Daily Inspection on 1 January 1943 and had signed Form 700 for the aircraft.

Sergeant Harding (1314524) stated that he had flown X4854 on 2 January for one hour thirty minutes, and had found it entirely serviceable, with no defects and the controls handling normally.

David Lloyd Hayden, a gardener employed at the Dunraven Castle Estate, of Seamouth Cottage, St Brides Major, stated that at about 3.10 p.m. on 2 January 1943 he was standing outside his front door when he heard an aircraft overhead. Looking towards the lighthouse, he saw what appeared to be a Spitfire flying south and diving at terrific speed. The aircraft appeared to explode in the air, though he heard no explosion; he saw pieces flying and a wing break away, after which the aircraft went into a spin and he lost sight of it. He reported the matter to the local coastguard.

Thomas Williams, a farmer aged 49 of Mill Farm, Monknash, stated that at 3.17 p.m. on 2 January 1943 he was feeding cattle near the Monknash Auxiliary Coastguard Lookout when his attention was drawn to an aircraft making an unusual noise, diving through cloud at terrific speed. He saw something detach from the machine, and shortly afterwards heard a terrific explosion from the direction of the beach north-west of the coastguard hut. He immediately reported the matter to the police at Wick by telephone from the coastguard hut.

Wing Commander A. G. N. Bellfield, R.A.F. (Retired), of Green Hollows, Ogmore-by-Sea, stated that he had been shooting on the Dunraven Castle Estate when, at almost exactly 15.10 hours by his watch, he heard an aircraft overhead and saw it in a spin, apparently out of control with the engine running full out. Small pieces were seen floating down in its wake, and it was evident that part of the machine had disintegrated in the air. Unable to see the actual crash from his position in the valley, he was told by beaters on higher ground that the aircraft had gone into the sea, with part of a wing falling in a nearby field. He reported the matter to a police constable he met on his way home.

Squadron Leader H. E. Arthur, Officer in Charge of the Servicing Squadron, No. 53 O.T.U., visited the scene at about 1630 hours on 2 January and again at low tide at 0930 hours on 3 January 1943. Wreckage recovered included the engine, propeller, undercarriage oleo legs, port elevator and centre-section spar booms, together with the starboard mainplane, whose spar had fractured inboard of the No. 1 gun. He formed the opinion that there had been a structural failure of the starboard wing in the air, consistent with previous wing failures he had inspected, and that the aircraft had struck the sea at very high speed.

The Investigating Officer's recommendation cautioned that pupils who are often “over-keen” should not take any latitude of initiative, since inexperience makes them apt to do the wrong thing; in rapidly changing atmospheric conditions pupils should keep strictly to the orders of their Flight Commanders and to the Flying Order Book, even at the cost of flying time, without this being allowed to reduce their self-confidence.

The Station Commander concurred with these findings, noting that weather at the time consisted of isolated rain storms some five to six miles in diameter with a cloud base of about 1,500 feet, set among otherwise good flying conditions with a general cloud base of 5,000 to 6,000 feet; a full flying programme remained in force and no general recall had been necessary, since the storms were readily avoidable. He judged that the Flight Commander who authorised the flight had been justified in considering the weather suitable, and that Sergeant Bell had been properly briefed and had signed the standing orders on cloud flying, which permitted no cloud flying below a base of 4,000 feet.

Burial Details

Sergeant Jack Gordon Stewart Bell was buried following a funeral held at 2.15 p.m. on 8 January 1943 at Llantwit Major Cemetery (3), Section C, Grave 36. He was born on 28 December 1922 in Parramatta, New South Wales, and enlisted on 12 September 1941 at Melbourne, Victoria. He was the son of Harold Gordon Bell (died 1954, aged 56) and Thelma Bell (née Dick, died 1980, aged 77), of St Kilda, Victoria, Australia. His headstone bears the epitaph: “Large Was His Bounty And His Soul Sincere”, from Gray's Elegy.

Service Details

Sergeant Bell trained at No. 1 Elementary Flying Training School, Parafield, South Australia; No. 8 Service Flying Training School, Moncton; and No. 5 Advanced Flying Unit, Ternhill. He was awarded his flying badge on 11 September 1942.

His flying experience totalled 114:00 hours dual and 131:00 hours solo, including 10:20 hours dual and 6:15 hours solo at night. He had flown 6:10 hours on Spitfires, 35:40 hours on instruments, and 25:45 hours on the Link Trainer.

Notes

(1) Spitfire I X4854 first flew on 14 December 1940 and was issued to No. 39 Maintenance Unit on 15 December 1940, before joining No. 501 Squadron on 10 May 1941 and No. 53 OTU on 17 June 1941. On 14 October 1941, it suffered a heavy landing at Llandow in which the undercarriage collapsed, Sergeant W. L. E. Rowthorn (RCAF) being unhurt; a further landing accident on 27 July 1942, in which the undercarriage again collapsed, was survived by Pilot Officer W. J. Packard (RAAF). The aircraft was lost on 2 January 1943 when Sergeant J. G. S. Bell (RAAF) lost control in cloud, entered a spiral dive, suffered failure of the starboard wing, and crashed into the sea near Dunraven Castle. (webmaster note - 20-year-old, W/O2 William Ellis Rowthn was killed on the 17th August 1942 flying Spitfire IX Br985. P/O. Walter John Packard survived the war, passing away on the 16th July 1988, at the age of 68)

(2) RAF Llandow sat in the Vale of Glamorgan, South Wales, about fifteen miles west of Cardiff. It began life in 1937 as a grass airstrip, first used by No. 614 (County of Glamorgan) Squadron, which formed there flying Hawker Hind and Hector aircraft before relocating to RAF Odiham at the outbreak of war.

The airfield reopened on 1 April 1940 under No. 38 Maintenance Unit, tasked with the reception, storage and despatch of RAF aircraft — this remained the airfield's core wartime function throughout the war. The stored aircraft types were remarkably varied, including Tiger Moths, Fairey Battles, Fox Moths, Bristol Blenheims, Spitfires, Whitleys, Lancaster bombers, Albemarles, and American Boston light bombers. Hard runways and permanent hangars, including a run of Super Robin hangars, were built in late 1941 to support this storage role.

From June 1941, No. 53 Operational Training Unit's B Flight, flying Spitfires, arrived at Llandow, using a satellite station at RAF Rhoose (now Cardiff Airport). Notably, it was during training here in 1941 that John Gillespie Magee Jr. wrote his famous poem 'High Flight.' The unit moved on to Kirton in Lindsey in 1943.

No. 3 Overseas Aircraft Preparation Unit formed at Llandow in July 1942, preparing aircraft such as Beaufighters, Warwicks, Wellingtons and Venturas for shipment abroad. In April 1944, transport flights formed there too: No. 1312 Flight remained based until 21 July 1944, flying Avro Ansons to transport urgent personnel to and from the Normandy landings area. Transport Command's central night-vision training school was also formed at Llandow in April 1944.

The airfield itself was bombed twice — in a raid on 15 July 1940 and a further attack in August 1940. A separate account notes a 1941 attack that caused significant damage to buildings and injuries to personnel.

By 1946, several hundred surplus aircraft sat at Llandow awaiting disposal, and No. 614 Squadron returned in 1946–47 as a postwar fighter squadron.

(3) Llantwit Major Cemetery: the War Graves Plot is enclosed on two sides by the stone wall marking the cemetery boundary. The Cross of Sacrifice stands on the western side of the plot, near the entrance.

Early in the 1939–45 War, a piece of ground was set aside by the local authorities in Section C, in the south-eastern corner of the cemetery, for service war burials, which became the War Graves Plot.

Most of the airmen buried here came from the large RAF station at St Athan, near Barry, and some from RAF Llandow, near Cowbridge. Many of them were killed in flying accidents while training.

Sources and Acknowledgements

• National Archives of Australia (NAA: A705, 166/5/7)
• Royal Air Force Form 765(c), Report on Flying Accident
• Commonwealth War Graves Commission
• Aircrew Remembered Archives
• Paul McGuiness RAAR Archive
• Bary Daily Post
• Wikipedia