Hawker Hurricane P3810 - 11/11/1940

On the 11th November 1940 at 00:00 hours Sergeant Otto Spacek of No 312 (Czech) Squadron took off in Hawker Hurricane No P3810 on a routine Target Formation Practice, he had no sooner been airborne and the engine started to give problems and then failed whilst over the River Mersey, Sergeant Spacek managed to glide his aircraft back over land and make a wheels up force landing in the wood storage area of the Bryant and May match factory, the aircraft sustained some damage but Sergeant Spacek was uninjured.

Sergeant Otto Spacek (Click to hear Sergeant Otto Spacek's memories of this accident - mp3 format)

Alan Davey who was a British armourer on No 312 (Czech) Squadron recently recalled seeing Sergeant Spacek gliding over the airport buildings and then disappearing in the vicinity of the match works, he was also sent to the aircraft to remove the ammunition and guns from it. He recalled that the cause of the engine failure was a big end failure.

Crash Site Summer 2002