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Archive Report: Allied Forces

Compiled from official National Archive and Service sources, contemporary press reports, personal logbooks, diaries and correspondence, reference books, other sources, and interviews.
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RAF Crest
21.07.1945 Power Jets Meteor III EE291 Sqn Ldr. Alan O. Moffet AFC

Operation: Display

Date: 21st July 1945 (Saturday)

Unit: No. Power Jets

Type: Gloster Meteor III

Serial: EE291

Base: Bruntingthorpe

Location: Whetstone

Pilot: Sqn Ldr. Alan Ormerod Moffet AFC 40736 RAF (RAFO) Age 25. Killed

REASON FOR LOSS:

Sqn Ldr Moffet was at the time the chief test pilot for the Power Jets company. On the 21st July whilst taking part in a Victory Gala being held at Whetstone in Leicestershire.

The aircraft descended from 5,000 ft to 500 ft and passed low over the airfield at about 450 knots, he then pulled up steeply into cloud. The aircraft was then seen flick rolling before levelling out inverted, it then dived into the ground and was totally destroyed and killing the pilot instantly.

In July 2015 his loss was commemorated with a newly installed seat near the crash site. His daughter attended along with other family members his family. Members of the Blaby Heritage and Museum Society had spent several years trying to trace relatives.

Burial details:

Sqn Ldr. Alan Ormerod Moffet AFC. Skelsmergh (St. John the Bapitist) Cemetery, Plot A, Grave 36. Inscription Reads: "HIS JOY IN LIVING HIS LOVE OF BEAUTY HIS COURAGE THESE ARE OUR MEMORIES". Born on the 30th April 1920 in Withington, Lancashire. Son of William Percy and Elizabeth Emily (née Leicester) Moffet. Husband to Mary Rebbia (née Hodgson) Moffet. Mary remarried in 1951 and passed away in 1983.

The AFC was awarded to Flt Lt. Moffet on the 11th June 1942, London Gazette 5th June 1942.

Researched and dedicated to the relatives of this pilot with thanks to Richard Holdridge, Leicester Mercury, Blaby Heritage and Museum Society. Thanks to Paul Waller for his research information (Jul 2021). Other sources as quoted below:

RS 04.07.2021 - Corrections and updated narrative

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Acknowledgements
Sources used by us in compiling Archive Reports include: Bill Chorley - 'Bomber Command Losses Vols. 1-9, plus ongoing revisions', Dr. Theo E.W. Boiten and Mr. Roderick J. Mackenzie - 'Nightfighter War Diaries Vols. 1 and 2', Martin Middlebrook and Chris Everitt - 'Bomber Command War Diaries', Commonwealth War Graves Commission, Tom Kracker - Kracker Luftwaffe Archives, Michel Beckers, Major Fred Paradie (RCAF) and MWO François Dutil (RCAF) - Paradie Archive (on this site), Jean Schadskaje, Major Jack O'Connor USAF (Retd.), Robert Gretzyngier, Wojtek Matusiak, Waldemar Wójcik and Józef Zieliński - 'Ku Czci Połeglyçh Lotnikow 1939-1945', Archiwum - Polish Air Force Archive (on this site), Anna Krzystek, Tadeusz Krzystek - 'Polskie Siły Powietrzne w Wielkiej Brytanii', Franek Grabowski, Norman L.R. Franks 'Fighter Command Losses', Stan D. Bishop, John A. Hey MBE, Gerrie Franken and Maco Cillessen - Losses of the US 8th and 9th Air Forces, Vols 1-6, Dr. Theo E.W. Boiton - Nachtjagd Combat Archives, Vols 1-13. Aircrew Remembered Databases and our own archives. We are grateful for the support and encouragement of CWGC, UK Imperial War Museum, Australian War Memorial, Australian National Archives, New Zealand National Archives, UK National Archives and Fold3 and countless dedicated friends and researchers across the world.
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