Today's dramatic tale from Watnall Hall is from Friday May 19th. 1939 when an aircraft crash landed through a hedge and onto the main B600 road at Watnall narrowly avoiding a herd of cows and a Post Office delivery van. The unruffled aviator turned out to be Rolls Royce's chief test pilot Captain R.T. "Shep" Shepherd¹ who lived at Nuthall and would later be first to fly the famous Flying Bedstead. We also look at the poignant story behind that flight which is quite remarkable. He also received an OBE for his wartime work testing the Merlin Spitfire engine at Hucknall.
In this article, we look at his career and what happened that day. His plane ended up against Watnall Hall's garden wall completely blocking the road. Local farmer Mr. Frank Farnsworth was just yards away when the plane crashed down and according to him his cows saved the day. He gives this eyewitness account to the Notts Evening Post's intrepid reporter. ..
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| The crashed plane on the B600 outside Watnall Hall. Looks like the bobby is about to confiscate someone's camera! |
PLANE WRECKED AT WATNALL. SERIOUS ACCIDENT LUCKILY AVERTED. AIRMEN UNINJURED.
Two airmen had a remarkable escape from injury when a plane crashed on to the Nottingham-Alfreton road in Watnall village, yesterday afternoon, completely blocking the highway. A herd of 15 dairy cows had just been driven out of a field, and the last animal was only ten yards away when the crash occurred. The cows belonged to Mr. Frank Farnsworth, of Ivy House farm, Watnall, who was only five yards away from the plane. He told the "Post" representative that the cows being on the road slowed up traffic, and probably prevented a Post Office van and three cars proceeding towards Nottingham from crashing into the wrecked aeroplane, which was piloted by Capt. Shepherd, of Nuthall, who, together with passenger, escaped without a scratch.
Workers in an adjacent field saw the plane swoop down, run along the grass, and plough through the hedge of the field bordering the main road. The right wing remained in the hedge and this swung the plane round into the road, and the left wing tip struck the garden wall of Watnall Hall, the residence of Col. Sir Lancelot and Lady Maud Rolleston.
Mr. Farnsworth said: "I dread to think what might have happened had it occurred two minutes earlier. I am convinced, too, that if the cows had not been on the road, and slowed down the traffic, some of them would have been just on the spot as the plane came through the hedge."
Crash Site
There are not many open fields opposite Watnall Hall's wall so I would imagine the crash location was in the old Moorgreen Show field by the Queen's Head as shown below. The other picture shows the old wall, much taller than today's which the plane would have crashed into.
FIVE YARDS AWAY.
Mr. Farnsworth continues... "I had left the gate open for the cows to come back after milking, and was five yards away when the plane appeared. I had the shock of my life. I ran to it and said to the pilot, Can I do anything for you or telephone anywhere? He climbed out as cool as you please and said No, thanks, we are quite all right. The two men were not a bit nervous."
Another resident of the village said that one of the airmen said they had a shock when they saw the wall loom in front of them. Matthew Hopkin, who is employed by Mr. Farnsworth, said he was walking up the field toward the main road when he heard the plane above him. "I heard a noise from the engine, and then it died away. The plane came low, and it appeared as though they were trying to lower the wheels. It ran along the field and through the hedge."
The undercarriage of the machine was wrecked, two of the blades of the propeller damaged, and also one wing. The plane was pushed backwards to allow a single-line traffic on the road, but it was a considerable time before the road was cleared. Later the plane was dismantled and taken away. Part of the hedge had to be sawn away.
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| Queen's Head pub, Watnall c.1900 |
What plane was involved?
Since I first published this story more information has come to light. Thanks to the Hucknall Flight Test Museum who were very helpful and quick to respond in the research for this post...
"The aircraft involved was the prototype Miles Master N7408 fitted with a Rolls-Royce Kestrel XXX engine. Captain Shepherd was making its first flight since being delivered to Hucknall. As the aircraft climbed away from the airfield, the engine cut out so Captain Shepherd lowered the undercarriage and landed straight ahead. The aircraft ran across a field, through a hedge at the side of the Queens Head and into the stone wall surrounding Watnall Hall and blocking the road. Neither Captain Shepherd or his passenger were injured and damage to the aircraft was restricted to the propeller, a wing tip and the undercarriage. The RAF from Hucknall dragged the aircraft clear of the road and it was then recovered back to Hucknall. The Kestrel engine was at this time suffering from a cut out problem and it is believed this aircraft was sent to Hucknall for investigation into a cure. Sadly it became a victim within its first minutes of flight."
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| Watnall Hall's entrance gates and wall in the distance roughly where the plane crashed. See the old milepost too? Alfreton 10 Nottingham 6 |
Or another account from the museum states... "Apologies for the poor quality of this picture which I discovered today in Harry Smith's book Hucknall and District, it shows Miles Master prototype N7408 after a forced landing laying across the road at Watnall adjacent to the Queens Head. The aircraft was making its first flight since arriving at Hucknall piloted by Captain Shepherd on the 19th May 1939.
The Pilot - Capt. R.T. "Shep" Shepherd
As it was climbing away from the airfield the engine cut. Captain Shepherd lowered the undercarriage and made a straight ahead landing. This took him across a field, through a hedge and onto the main road adjacent to the Queens Head public house, completely blocking the road. Neither Captain Shepherd or his passenger, a Mr Ball were injured and the aircraft damage was repairable, being restricted to propeller. undercarriage and wing tip. It would appear that Kestrel Powered N7408 had been sent to Hucknall to sort cooling problems and also a problem with the engine cutting out!"
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| The crashed plane was a prototype Miles Master N7408 fitted with a Rolls-Royce Kestrel XXX engine. |
"Captain Shepherd served in the Royal Flying Corps in WW1, leaving at the end of the war but joining the RAF three years later. He was placed on the reserve list in 1929 and became Chief Flying Instructor for Phillips and Powis of Reading who manufactured light aircraft such as the Master. He then moved to National Flying Services as the Flying instructor for the Nottingham flying Club at Tollerton where in October 1931 he made his first test flight on behalf of Rolls-Royce. When Rolls-Royce opened its Flight Test Establishment at Hucknall, he transferred to the company as Chief Test Pilot. He was involved the development testing of many engines and aircraft including the Merlin powered Spitfire, Hurricane and Mustang amongst other and continued into the early jet age. He retired in 1951 and had two major operations for cancer. When Rolls-Royce began testing the Thrust Measurement Rig (Flying Bedstead) Shepherd came out of retirement to assist in its testing, making the worlds first untethered vertical take off and landing. He did this in the knowledge that he was suffering from terminal cancer and the risk to his life was small.
Shepherd flew for 35 years and piloted 77 different types of aircraft. He was made an OBE in 1946. His grave in Nuthall Cemetery points towards the runway at Hucknall."
He was awarded an OBE in 1946 for his work developing and testing the famous Merlin Spitfire engine. He is shown below in 1940, 3rd from the left, with his Hucknall colleagues.
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| "Shep" piloting the Flying Beadstead for VIPs at Hucknall shortly before his death |
"Shep's" career began with Vickers-Armstrongs in the gun manufacturing industry, and on the outbreak of the 1914-18 war he joined the Honourable Artillery Company, transferring to the R.F.C. in 1916. Among the squadrons with which he served were No. 102 (F.E.2bs) and No. 37 (Camels), and he flew on night operations against Zeppelins. He left the Service in 1918 but rejoined it in 1921, serving in England and in Egypt until 1929, when he was placed on the Reserve. Thereafter, he was C.F.I, to Phillips and Powis, Reading, and was subsequently with National Flying Services and managed the Nottingham Flying Club. In October 1931, Capt. Shepherd made his first flight for Rolls-Royce, testing a Fairey IIIF with a Kestrel engine. During the next three years he flew regularly for the company, and when they started their own flight establishment at Hucknall in 1934, Shepherd was appointed chief test pilot, a post which he held continuously until 1951.
During the post-war years he was, of course, mainly concerned with gas-turbine flying. He was the first man to fly on Nene and Avon engines—in the Lancastrian flying test-bed; he flew this aircraft at the 1946 S.B.A.C. Show. In 1951—in which year he had a serious illness and two major operations—he relinquished full-time test flying and was appointed flying consultant to the Rolls-Royce management. The old urge remained, however, and when the most unconventional aircraft ever produced—the Rolls-Royce "Flying Bedstead"— was ready for testing, he made a special request that he should be allowed to conduct the initial work. "Shep" made the first flight on August 3rd 1954.
In 35 years of flying, he handled 77 different types of aircraft and logged over 8,000 hours. Official appreciation of his outstanding work as a test pilot, and in particular of his flight development work on the Merlin engine, came in 1946, when he was appointed O.B.E.
Update - April 2024 - The distinctive heat-resistant bricks of the test rig flooring, shown in the picture of the Bedstead piloted by Shepherd above, are still there actually but not for much longer as the latest batch of housing is due to be built there soon. Dorey Way, Hucknall.
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| April 2024 - Flying Bedstead test pad |
"Captain Ronald Thomas Shepherd, of Highfield Road, Nuthall was awarded the OBE for his wartime services as chief test pilot for Rolls-Royce. He also made the first free flight of the Rolls-Royce Thrust Measuring Rig, nicknamed the Flying Bedstead at nearby Hucknall Aerodrome. He died a few months later, 1 March 1955 and is buried in the New Farm Lane cemetery Nuthall, in the only grave which faces north - towards the airfield."
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| Punch Magazine 1950s - Flying Bedstead captures the public imagination |
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| WING COMMANDER R.T. SHEPHERD his grave at Nuthall Cemetery faces towards his old Hucknall aerodrome with two more recent RAF graves behind. |
Notes, sources and pic credits -
Notts Evening Post, Lisa Fitzgerald, National Library of Scotland; TEST & RESEARCH PILOTS, FLIGHT TEST ENGINEERS
https://thetartanterror.blogspot.com/2008/02/ronaldtshepherd-1900-1955.html; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuthall
Video of the Flying Bedstead from the same flight as pictured below. c.3 FEBRUARY 1955
Pic credit - Britain's amazing 'Flying Bedstead' the jet engined framework which rises vertically from the ground had made several flights from Hucknall Aerodrome, Nottinghamshire. Captain Ronald Shepherd, formerly the Rolls-Royce chief test pilot and at this point the firm's flying consultant, was at the controls as the aircraft was raised above the aerodrome. 27th January 1955. (Photo by NCJ - Kemsley/NCJ Archive/Mirrorpix via Getty Images)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ronald_Thomas_Shepherd
HISTORY OF HUCKNALL AIRFIELD
Hucknall airfield permanently closed on 1 March 2015.
The airfield opened in 1916 as No. 12 (Training) Group, 27th Wing with No. 15 Training Depot of the RFC using Curtiss Jenny JN-4 aircraft.
In February 1918 No. 128 (Gold Coast) Squadron arrived using the DH9 aircraft. They were followed on 1 March 1918 by 130 Squadron also using the DH9 and on 18 March 1918 by 205 Squadon with DH4 and DH9S. These squadrons were absorbed into the RAF when it was formed on 1 April 1918.
On 18 August 1918 23rd Aero Squadron (Repair) USAAF arrived at Hucknall, but in 1919 the airfield was closed and sold to a local farmer, George Elkington.
When the Nottingham Aero Club was formed in 1926 it used part of the airfield but had to leave when the site was bought by the Air Ministry in 1927 and opened in 1928 as RAF Hucknall. During the 1930s an annual Empire Air Day of displays by the resident squadrons was held.
In December 1934 Rolls-Royce moved its testing establishment to Hucknall from Tollerton (see KDLHS's publication on the History of Tollerton Airfield), and operated there until 2007, although latterly only ground testing was undertaken after the RR flight testing moved to Filton, Bristol. Notable tests at Hucknall were on Sir Frank Whittle's jet engine in 1942 and the subsequent generations of R-R jet engines both military and civilian. In July 1953 VTOL tests were undertaken on what became colloquially known as the 'Flying Bedstead'.
During the war R-R repaired and modified Hurricane fighter aircraft at Hucknall. A huge number of wrecked Hurricanes were returned to service by the Rolls Royce repair unit. There was also the incident of the Luftwaffe pilot Fritz Von Werra, the only Luftwaffe pilot to (eventually) escape from British captivity, when he boldly tried to borrow (unsuccessfully) one such Hurricane at Hucknall. Many interesting people flew into Hucknall. Douglas Bader, Max Aitken, Leigh Mallory (who was Commanding Officer of 12 Fighter Group at Watnall), the Duke of Kent, who was killed soon after, and the Princess Royal and many more.
Returning to the RAF, early in the war until late 1940, Hucknall was home to No 12 Fighter Group HQ after which it moved to the underground bunker at Watnall. In January 1941 No. 1 Flying Training School arrived at Hucknall using Tiger Moth, Fairey Battle and Airspeed Oxford aircraft; this school moved to RAF Newton in July 1941 as No. 16 Secondary Flying Training School. It was replaced at Hucknall on 16 July 1941 by 25 Elementary Flying Training School using Tiger Moths. Hundreds of Polish pilots were also trained to fly on Tiger Moths at Hucknall.
In May 1946 504 Squadron arrived with DH Mosquito NF30 night-fighters and it was re-equipped with Spitfire F22 day fighters in May 1948. This squadron re-located to RAF Wymeswold in March 1950.
In 1946 the Nottingham University Air Squadron used Hucknall flying Tiger Moths but it moved to Newton during 1947.
The Merlin Flying Club (R-R employees) has used the airfield since 1971 and up to the final closure operates the site as a weekend flying venue. The Club celebrates its time at Hucknall during February 1915 with free landings and on the last weekend is holding an event with a final firework display and hopes that guest pilots will attend.
Watnall locals will remember the annual Hucknall airshow in the summer and the very often seen (and heard) blue photo reconnaissance Spitfire that graced the local skies in the summer months. Sadly no more. The last airshow was around 2014.
The site is now used for housing, an extension of the Greater Nottingham conurbation, no doubt to be populated by people who won't ever give a thought to why their roads are named Kestrel, Peregrine, Merlin, Griffon, Welland, Derwent or Avon. Some of the airfield buildings are listed and there is also the Hucknall Flight Test museum on the site, along the lines of Duxford and Old Warden.
Sqn Ldr Henry Gordon Francis Larsen (1916 - 1957)
As regards his death, this is the news article from Flight magazine:
"R-R. "Bedstead" Accident
In an accident to the second Rolls-Royce "flying bedstead" A test rig at Hucknall on November 28 the pilot W/C. H. G. F. Larsen, lost his life. The company stated that the machine, which was being used for an initial training flight, struck the gantry to which it was tethered. They added that a duplicate machine is available to continue the tests "almost immediately." W/C. Larsen, seconded from the R.A.F. to the R.A.E. Bedford, was one of a group of pilots being instructed in VTOL techniques at Hucknall.
At the inquest on W/C. Larsen, held last Monday, evidence was given that the aircraft "rose to an abnormal height" and came down on its side. A Naval pilot said that the machine had behaved quite normally during two flights which he himself had made that day"
http://www.flightglobal.com/FlightPDFArchive/1957/1957%20-%201768.pdf
RE: S/L H G F Larsen, DFC, 28 sqn, 1944
Author: Amrit
Time Stamp:
11:59:34 Wednesday, August 8, 2007
Post: ""Bedstead" Inquest Verdict
AFTER seeing a film of the last moments of the second Rolls- L Royce "flying bedstead" test rig, in which W/C. H. G. F. Larsen lost his life on November 28, a coroner's jury at Hucknall on December 16 returned a verdict of accidental death. Mr. C. A. Mack, Nottingham District Coroner, told the resumed inquest that there had been a very searching inquiry into the possible cause of the disaster and "any question of mechanical fault" had been entirely ruled out."
http://www.flightglobal.com/FlightPDFArchive/1957/1957%20-%201886.pdf
If you'd like to see pictures of the crashed machine (Rolls-Royce Thrust Measuring Rig XK426), then type in "bedstead" into the search box in the link below:
http://www.scienceandsociety.co.uk/results.asp
‘Flying Bedstead’ after its accident, Hucknall, Nottinghamshire, 1957.
Rolls-Royce Thrust Measuring Rig (TMR) XK426 at Hucknall after its accident. The TMR or 'Flying Bedstead' was used to test the principles of jet powered vertical flight. It was stabilised with small thrusters. Most of the 'flights' were tethered. Two were built, both suffered minor accidents but the lessons learned allowed progression to the Short SC1 and eventually the Harrier jump jet.
XK426 was the second of two Rolls Royce "Flying Bedsteads", (Thrust Measuring Rigs) - the first British jet plane to achieve a vertical take-off. It was involved in a fatal crash during trials on 28 November 1957.
The aircraft was carrying out an initial tethered flight in a gantry at Hucknall, Nottinghamshire. At 30 feet it paused, wobbled, and fell back rapidly and struck the ground heavily on its rear legs. It then bounced back up to 30 feet, fell back to the ground and toppled against the gantry structure killing the pilot. The pilot - New York-born Wing Commander Henry G.F. Larsen - was pinned underneath and crushed. He had been piloting the aircraft for the first time.
As a result of this accident, the other "Flying Bedstead" (Thrust Measuring Rig) was grounded. XK426 was the second of the two (the first was issued the serial XJ314). XK426 has a short flying life; it had only flown for the first time on 12 November 1957, and was wrecked in the above crash 16 days later.
The wreckage of XK426 was scrapped, XJ314 (TMR/"Flying Bedstead" No.1) was gifted to the Science Museum in London, where it remained on display
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