204th Fog Wing Depot St.

[peter harris]

Hello to all,

Your help would be very much appreciated with the following, I am researching a young cadet:

Hyram Hill.

Flight Cadet.

Royal Air force.

204th Fog Wing Depot St.

Died 28/8/1918.

Age 18.

He is recorded on the CWGC site as buried in Stalybridge (St Pauls) churchyard, Cheshire, his name also appears on the memorial in the Stalybridge town, I have checked the UK death index for July 1918 and found a Hiram Hill age 18 yrs, Guisborough. subject to obtaining a death certificate to confirm if this is the same man, my question is this, does anyone know what the significance might be of the Guisborough area, RAF hospital there,? 204th Fog Wing Depot in that area?

Thanking you in advance for any info given.

Kind Regards,

Peter.

[Dolphin]

Peter

Airmen Died has Flt Cdt H Hill, from No 2 Fighting School at Marske, killed in an accident when flying DH 9 E610 on 28 August 1918. 2Lt A J Goring was also in the aircraft (almost certainly the instructor) and was seriously injured. The aeroplane made a flat turn at 300 feet, then stalled and spun into the ground.

Perhaps Flt Cdt Hill had previously served in No 204 Training Depot Station at Eastchurch?

I hope that this helps you.

Gareth

[peter harris]

Peter

Airmen Died has Flt Cdt H Hill, from No 2 Fighting School at Marske, killed in an accident when flying DH 9 E610 on 28 August 1918. 2Lt A J Goring was also in the aircraft (almost certainly the instructor) and was seriously injured. The aeroplane made a flat turn at 300 feet, then stalled and spun into the ground.

Perhaps Flt Cdt Hill had previously served in No 204 Training Depot Station at Eastchurch?

I hope that this helps you.

Gareth

Gareth,

This is wonderfull stuff, its seems the Marske area (Marske on sea) near Redcar falls under the Guisborough area in BMD, so the entry for Hiram Hill will indeed be him, can I ask the significance (if any) of the plane a DH-9 E610?

Many thanks.

Peter.

[Doc2]

Peter, The DH-9 E610 is simply identification of the plane he crashed in. It would have been a DeHavilland DH-9 model, with a serial number (military registration number) of E610. Doc2

[Dolphin]

Peter

Sorry, but I wasn't sure about how well acquainted you are with the aeroplanes of 90+ years ago. the Airco DH 9 was a two seat day bomber; a photograph of one is below.

Regards

Gareth

[peter harris]

Thanks to Doc2 and Gareth,

For your input / help into my thread, this has enabled me to take my research a little further , it seems the Marske / Redcar area was a bit of an "Accident Alley" (but I'm sure you guys are well aware of that) and other "Accident Hotspot", just off thread slightly and I'm not suggesting it happened in H. Hills case, but would the technology of the day have made victory roll's a very risky business indeed? carb full then whoops!! carb empty?...............and your right I don't know my Airco De Havilland from my Olivia de Havilland!!

Kind Regards,

Peter.

[fitzee]

A brief history:

Geoffrey De Havilland, born in 1882, was in his twenties when he joined His Majesties Balloon Factory in Farnborough in 1910 and set to work designing airplanes.

In 1914, only a month before the outbreak of World War 1, De Havilland joined the Airco Company, as it's chief designer. There he achieved his first success, the DH4 light bomber, which flew operationally in 1916. Highly maneuverable and very reliable with a top speed of 143 mph, the DH4 could out fly most fighters of its day and was highly praised by it's aircrews.

Despite the success of the DH4 it was apparent a successor would soon be needed

The bombing campaigns of 1918 required a longer-range bomber.

A new engine, the 230 hp Siddelly Puma, was in development and showed much promise. The DH4 was redesigned and fitted with the new engine, additionally, the pilot and gunlayer were seated closer together to facilitate communication. It was the first aircraft to house its 200-lb bomb load inside the fuselage.

The DH9 entered service and took to the sky in early 1918.

The" Puma" engine turned out to be plagued with problems and many were lost due to engine failure behind enemy lines. She was also slower and had a lower ceiling than the DH4. The RAF was forced to carry on using the flawed machines until the improved DH9a could be brought into service near the end of the war.

Chances are E610 simply stalled on a turn and fell from the sky

Fitzee

[peter harris]

Fitzee,

Very well explained indeed and many thanks for taking the time, this info will be very usefull to me.

Regards,

Peter.

[Adrian Roberts]

There he achieved his first success, the DH4 light bomber

Didn't the DH2 count as a success - albeit for just a few months of mid-1916, but this was really the only period when we had air superiority as opposed to parity or worse during the war?

[fitzee]

Didn't the DH2 count as a success - albeit for just a few months of mid-1916, but this was really the only period when we had air superiority as opposed to parity or worse during the war?

Your absolutely right, the DH2 was a very sucessful aircraft. However,from an aeronautical design standpoint, I think De Havilland made leaps and bounds when he introduced the DH 4. Didn't the DH2 have a tendency to spin because of the dastardly open rotary engine?

I recall reading somewhere that some of the early DH 4 models were modified with duel controls. A second rudder bar and a slot for a control stick that was strapped on the inside of the back position with the idea that if the pilot was wounded the gunlayer could at least attempt to land the machine. The problem was,[apart from observers having no pilot training] in a fight, the empty lewis ammo drums on the floor jammed the rudder bar rendering the controls useless! The solution was for ground crews to screw plywood over the back rudderbar.