Penshurst

The crew departed RAF Millom on a training flight to RAF Detling. En route, the twin engine aircraft went out of control, dove into the ground and crashed in a huge explosion. All four occupants were killed.
Crew (2nd Bombing Gunnery School):
P/O Sidnyey Guy Rodd, pilot,
Sgt Geoffrey Leo Pitman, navigator,
LAC Phillip Leslie Jackson,
AC1 Harold Davenport.

The airplane was shot down by the pilot of a RAF fighter and crashed in Penshurst. Two crew members were killed and two others became PoW.

The aircraft departed Paris-Le Bourget Airport in the early morning on a cargo flight to Croydon, carrying two crew members and a load of 550 kg of various goods and mail. En route, the pilot Henri Roth encountered technical problems while flying in poor visibility due to foggy conditions. After passing over Tonbridge, the airplane was low on fuel and the pilot attempted to make an emergency landing at Penshurst Aerodrome. The airplane was unable to stop within the remaining distance, impacted a hedge and crashed near a road. Both crew members escaped uninjured while the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.

The aircraft departed Le Bourget Airport at 1330LT bound for Croydon Airport, London. After crossing The Channel, the crew proceeded with a radio control over Tonbridge at 1524LT. At this time, all was OK on board according to the crew. Three minutes later, the port upper engine caught fire. Immediately, the pilot modified his route and diverted to Penshurst Airport close to his position to make an emergency landing. Eyewitnesses described the tail of the aircraft sinking whilst the aircraft gained a little height. Then the aircraft rolled over and dived to the ground where the wreckage was consumed by fire. The aircraft crashed in the grounds of a house named Southwood, in Leigh, Kent. All seven occupants were killed. The aircraft had been inspected before the flight, and a certificate issued by Bureau Veritas showing that it was fit for flight. The pilot was experienced, with over 2,000 hours flying time, and had been in the employ of Air Union since 1920. He had made 61 return flights between Paris and London. As both crew were French citizens, all five passengers were British.

Few minutes after takeoff from Croydon, the pilot encountered problems and elected to make an emergency landing in a field in Penshurst. While all three occupants were unhurt, the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.

Showing off to a crowd often leads to embarrassment, as the pilot of an Avro 504 K discovered back in 1921. G-EAFQ was supposed to be flying from Penshurst to Ashford on the afternoon of 26th November - at the controls was Mr. R.H. Leavy, with a Mr. T. Baden-Powell as passenger. After making a short test flight the pilot took off again with the intention of heading for a temporary aerodrome at Ashford. On climbing to about 600 feet in an easterly direction, Leavy commenced a gradual turn to port until the Avro 504 arrived over a football ground on which a game was in progress. The machine was then banked vertically and the pilot, at 400 feet, waved his arm at the spectators. Unfortunately G-EAFQ fell rapidly into a side-slip and only partially recovered before striking the ground about 200 yards outside the touchline. The aircraft was fitted with dual controls - the passenger had not, however, interfered with them in any way. The men scrambled from the wreckage, Mr. Leavy having received nothing worse than cuts to the face, and Mr. Baden-Powell was unhurt.