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| Date: | Wednesday 6 December 1944 |
| Time: | 10:10 |
| Type: |  North American B-25D Mitchell Mk II |
| Owner/operator: | 5 OTU RCAF |
| Registration: | HD343 |
| MSN: | 100-24182 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1 |
| Other fatalities: | 0 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | Tilbury Island, 4 miles north of RCAF Boundery Bay, British Columbia -
 Canada
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Illegal Flight |
| Departure airport: | RCAF Boundery Bay, BC |
Mitchell HD343 ex USAAF B-25D-35-NA serial no.43-3856 from No. 5 Operational Training Unit RCAF Boundary Bay, British Columbia.
Stolen on 6 December 1944 by Sgt Scratch was killed when his Mitchell aircraft HD343 crashed four miles north of RCAF Boundary Bay after five hours and fifteen minutes of dangerous low- flying.
From the Globe and Mail newspaper, 9 December 1944: Scratch had enlisted in the RCAF on 18 July 1940. Court-martialled and dismissed from the service in August 1944 for conducting a similar unauthorized flight in a Liberator in Newfoundland. He was a commissioned officer at that time. He had been permitted "due to a scarcity of flying personnel" to re-enlist as a Sergeant (pilot).
Just prior to his unauthorized flight in the Mitchell, Sgt Scratch had taken a Liberator aircraft and taxied it off the tarmac and into a ditch, all four propellers struck the hard surfaced road, three of the propellers fractured the reduction housing and broke free of the aircraft. The nosewheel oleo leg was also sheared off and the aircraft collapsed on its belly on the roadway. Sgt Scratch was not authorized to taxi the Liberator. He then jumped in the Mitchell and proceeded to beat up the area for several hours before crashing.
Declared Cat.A, to No. 3 Repair Depot on 8 December 1944 for scrapping /struck off Strength Struck off, reduced to spares and produce. 17/01/1945
Crew:
Sgt (R/60973) Don Palmer SCRATCH (pilot) RCAF : killed
Sources:
1.http://www.rwrwalker.ca/RCAF_HB207_HH560_detailed.html
2.https://caspir.warplane.com/asrc/acn/200000171/#HD343
3.Saskatoon Star-Phoenix 7 December 1944, p2/8 December 1944, p11
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 27-Dec-2017 19:18 | TB | Added |
| 28-Dec-2017 20:13 | TB | Updated [Time, Departure airport, Source, Narrative] |
| 28-Dec-2017 20:53 | TB | Updated [Source, Narrative] |
| 26-May-2024 16:57 | Nepa | Updated [Time, Location, Phase, Departure airport, Operator] |
| 01-Jul-2024 16:26 | Nepa | Updated [Time, Aircraft type, Operator, Location, Source, Narrative, Operator] |
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