Defiant N1651

Defiant N1651

18 August 1941. Defiant N1651 flown by Pilot Officer Norman Jack Sharpe was on a night-time navigational exercise out of RAF Squires Gate at Blackpool when it crashed on Hawthornthwaite Fell in the Forest of Bowland. PO Sharpe apparently survived the crash and that night he tried to make his way off the fellside. He was not found until the following lunchtime which proved too late alas, and he died later that day from his injuries.

Notes on visiting the site.

The crash site is at grid reference SD 57501 51590

There is significant peat erosion on this fell with gaping holes in the bare peat and hidden by vegetation around the debris.

I made my way to the site from the crash site of Mustang AP208 on Holdron Moss having left the car park at Langden Brook before 5am. I had hoped to photograph that site at sunrise, but the low cloud hung around till 0830. Rather than wait, I visited this site before returning to Holdron Moss.

From the site of Mustang AP208, I made my way up to Black Clough Head. It was a slog and approaching Black Clough Head a carpet of sphagnum moss made for particularly difficult walking, my boots sinking with every step. It was like walking in deep snow. From there I should have stuck to the boundary fence but instead decided to cut across the moor directly towards Hawthornthwaite Fell Top. This was another mistake. I stumbled across peat groughs and into bogs, sinking up to my thighs in one. There was low cloud, it was hot and humid and I was plagued by midges.

It was awful. Don’t do it. Stick to the fence. There is a bit of a quad bike track and in places a footpath. It’s still wet and unless you are walking in a drought or after a severe frost, it will be a squelchy walk. Once on the plateau of Hawthornthwaite Fell Top, the path becomes more distinct and easier underfoot, and comes within a few hundred metres of the crash site. Note the trig point which is marked on older maps, toppled over in 2010, a victim of the peat erosion.
Below: Photo of the trig point on Hawthornthwaite Fell Top taken five years before it toppled over. Image source: Mick Melvin via wikimedia commons

The short walk back to the boundary fence and path from the crash site is not taxing. I stuck to the fence for the walk back to Holdron Moss, across Lingy Pitts and back to Black Clough Head. From there, I walked down Black Clough with the fence on my right, and although there was no path it was much easier than the mossy stuff on the top of Holdron Moss.

Below: My attempt at colourising a photo of a 256 Sqn Defiant taken at Squire’s Gate.

The original photo is widely available online.