Hawker Hurricane P3385 - 09/08/1942

On the morning of the 9^th August 1942 Pilot Officer Robert McIntye in Hawker Hurricane P3385 and Sergeant Peter Riddoch of the Merchant Ship Fighter Unit took off for a week’s gunnery course at RAF Valley,

As Pilot Officer McIntye was the more experienced pilot he led the fight of two aircraft westward, the flight briefing called for the aircraft to fly at 2,000 feet or below cloud and to follow the coastline, shortly after take off the radio in Sergeant Riddoch’s Hurricane failed, it was noticed some time later by Sergeant Riddoch that the cloud was thickening and that they had climbed to 3,000 feet, he also identified Rhyl some five miles to starboard meaning they were inland by that much. The aircraft were soon at 4,000 feet in 10/10ths cloud.

The flight of Hurricanes noticed a funnel through the clouds with a River at the bottom, this could have only been the River Conway meaning they had wondered well inland, both aircraft began to loose height into the cloud and after a short time were down to 2,500 feet and into the mountain peeks!, Sergeant Riddoch seeing them lifted a wing and accelerated past Pilot Officer McIntye and climbed in the hope that Pilot Officer McIntye would follow him as he could not be contacted by radio, Sergeant Riddoch broke out of the cloud at 4,000 feet into sunshine, here he waited for 5 minutes for Pilot Officer McIntye to arrive. When he didn’t Sergeant Riddoch headed back to the funnel and followed the river to the coast and then onto RAF Valley were he landed safely and to await news of Pilot Officer McIntye

Maelor Hughes lived near Llyn Cwmorthin to the west of Blaenau Ffestiniog and heard the sound of an aircraft coming closer and then was followed by a crashing noise from the summit of alt Fawr, a 2,000 feet high mountain north of the lake, Maelor Hughes climbed to the top of the mountain and found the wreckage of Hurricane P3385 and its dead pilot, Pilot Officer McIntye.

The official investigation into the accident concluded that the aircraft flew into a hillside whilst flying above cloud, and should have flown below clouds and kept to the coast route.