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John James Hawke Copley

Name : John James Hawke Copley Died : 14th September 1939 Service Number : 41258

On Thursday, 14th September 1939 Copley was attempting to take off at 18.25hrs, there was a slight wind blowing from the north at the time and the aircraft was taking off into this wind. The aircraft failed to climb above twelve feet after becoming airborne, it struck the tower of the Watch Office on the Northern boundary of the airfield and crashed just behind it. AC1 George Marshall (328832) was at his post in the Watch Office at the time of the crash and saw the aircraft approach, he was left to duck for cover as it struck the top of the building. The wreckage caught fire immediately and although the pilot could not be rescued because of the fire it was later thought that he had been killed instantly as a result of the impact. It was thought that he had lost control while taking off. This was 41 Squadron's first fatal accident of the War. Pilot - P/O John James Hawke Copley RAF (41258), aged 18, of Newton, Cambridgeshire. Buried Newton Churchyard, Cambridgeshire.

COMBAT REPORTS

On Thursday, 14th September 1939 the pilot of this 41 Squadron aircraft was attempting to take off at 18.25hrs, there was a slight wind blowing from the north at the time and the aircraft was taking off into this wind. The aircraft failed to climb above twelve feet after becoming airborne, it struck the tower of the Watch Office on the Northern boundary of the airfield and crashed just behind it. AC1 George Marshall (328832) was at his post in the Watch Office at the time of the crash and saw the aircraft approach, he was left to duck for cover as it struck the top of the building. The wreckage caught fire immediately and although the pilot could not be rescued because of the fire it was later thought that he had been killed instantly as a result of the impact. It was thought that he had lost control while taking off. This was 41 Squadron's first fatal accident of the War.

Known Service Details :
Squadron	Rank	Start of Service	End of Service	Known Dates	Aircraft	Airframes	Notes
No.41 Sqn RAF		unknown	14th September 1939				Killed in Action

Aircraft for : John James Hawke Copley
A list of all aircraft associated with John James Hawke Copley. A profile page including a list of all art prints for the aircraft is available by clicking the aircraft name.
Aircraft	Info
Spitfire Click the name above to see prints featuring Spitfire aircraft. Manufacturer : Supermarine Production Began : 1936 Retired : 1948 Number Built : 20351	Spitfire Royal Air Force fighter aircraft, maximum speed for mark I Supermarine Spitfire, 362mph up to The Seafire 47 with a top speed of 452mph. maximum ceiling for Mk I 34,000feet up to 44,500 for the mark XIV. Maximum range for MK I 575 miles . up to 1475 miles for the Seafire 47. Armament for the various Marks of Spitfire. for MK I, and II . eight fixed .303 browning Machine guns, for MKs V-IX and XVI two 20mm Hispano cannons and four .303 browning machine guns. and on later Marks, six to eight Rockets under the wings or a maximum bomb load of 1,000 lbs. Designed by R J Mitchell, The proto type Spitfire first flew on the 5th March 1936. and entered service with the Royal Air Force in August 1938, with 19 squadron based and RAF Duxford. by the outbreak of World war two, there were twelve squadrons with a total of 187 spitfires, with another 83 in store. Between 1939 and 1945, a large variety of modifications and developments produced a variety of MK,s from I to XVI. The mark II came into service in late 1940, and in March 1941, the Mk,V came into service. To counter the Improvements in fighters of the Luftwaffe especially the FW190, the MK,XII was introduced with its Griffin engine. The Fleet Air Arm used the Mk,I and II and were named Seafires. By the end of production in 1948 a total of 20,351 spitfires had been made and 2408 Seafires. The most produced variant was the Spitfire Mark V, with a total of 6479 spitfires produced. The Royal Air Force kept Spitfires in front line use until April 1954.

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