Sergeant (Meteorological Observer)CURD, CHARLES DANIEL Service Number 1640511 Died 10/10/1943 Aged 19 521 Sqdn. Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve Son of Charles Daniel and Margaret Ethel Curd, of South Hylton. INSCRIPTION HE WHO WOULD VALIANT BE Casualty
Details of the above loss.... 10 October 1943 521 Squadron Hampden L4204 Sgt Charles Daniel Curd was lost on when Hampden L4204 crashed while taking off at Docking, after the pilot became disorientated as the aircraft entered a fog bank.
Using Peter's info found this Handley Page Hampden TB Mk I L4204 accident, 10 Oct 1943 Swung & hit gunpost being DBF. Written off (damaged beyond repair) DBF ? (apart from one of the forum mods) does that mean Damaged Beyond Fixing ? also seems he was the first of his kind to die RAFCommands :: Old Forum Archive
England & Wales, Civil Registration Death Index, 1916-2007 Name: Charles D Curd Death Age: 20 Birth Date: abt 1923 Registration Date: Dec 1943 Registration district: Fakenham Inferred County: Norfolk Volume: 4b Page: 350 UK and Ireland, Find A Grave Index, 1300s-Current Name: Sergeant ( Met. Obs. ) Charles Daniel Curd Death Date: 10 Oct 1943 Cemetery: Sunderland Cemetery Burial or Cremation Place: Sunderland, Metropolitan Borough of Sunderland, Tyne and Wear, England Has Bio?: N URL: http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-... England & Wales, Civil Registration Birth Index, 1916-2005 Name: Charles D Curd Mother's Maiden Surname: Cowley Date of Registration: Oct-Nov-Dec 1923 Registration district: Sunderland Inferred County: Durham Volume Number: 10a Page Number: 1388 TD
DBF is not an official RAF Accident Category....it would come under Category E.,ie,Destroyed...... write off....struck of charge but.... However it looks as if the aircraft was destroyed by fire...... DBF ....hence of no value and not qualifying for the assessments as below. Assessments where the aircraft has not been entirely destroyed except totally destroyed by fire E1 Wreck....reduced to spares E2 Scrap This aircraft was one of 180,a first batch of Hampdens produced by HP at Radlett ...16 were later converted to torpedo bombers, L 4024 being one such aircraft. No 521 Squadron was initially formed in July 1942 from No 1401 Met Flight at Bircham Newton then disbanded into No 1401 and No 1409 Flights in March 1943. It reformed at Docking in September 1943,equipped short term with the Hampden and Hudson until December 1943.....seems to have had a variety of aircraft from then on.
