Hawker Hurricane W9112

Lowther Hill, Dumfries & Galloway

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Operating Country

UK (RAF)

Pilot Nationality

Canada (RCAF)

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Acknowledgments

Data corrections and other information for this page were kindly provided by Alan Leishman. Updated photos were kindly provided by Alan Leishman in co-operation with Jim Eagles.

Additional photos were kindly provided by Andy Smart (Canada).

Pilot photo kindly provided by Alan Leishman, courtesy of Andy Smart.

Many thanks also to Dave Borland for kindly providing memorial photos.

Copyright Notice

All photos remain the property of their original author and may not be reproduced elsewhere without his prior written permission.

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Aircraft Type Photo

BELOW: Mk.I RAF Hawker Hurricane R4118, with its original markings, on display at Cotswold Airport / Kemble Airport, Gloucestershire, England.

Details of this Hurricane's appearances at air shows can be found at Hurricane Display.co.uk

hurricane mk i r4118 on display at kemble airfield england

Photo: 2006 Adrian Pingstone (Arpingstone). Released by the author to the public domain.

Aircraft Type and Background

RAF Hawker Hurricane Mk I / W9112

Aircraft Type Nickname: "Hurry"; "Flying Tin Openers"; "Flying Can Openers" (later versions).

A military single-seat interceptor / fighter / bomber flown by the Royal Air Force. The Hurricane was designed by Sydney Camm and built mainly by Hawker Aircraft Ltd.

The Hawker Hurricane was equipped with 1 Rolls-Royce liquid-cooled Merlin III 12-cylinder power plant. Later versions had Merlin XX, XXI or XXII power plants. Hurricane W9112 featured on this page was equipped with a Rolls-Royce Merlin Mk III engine.

The Hurricane fighter-bomber was armed with eight .303 inch Browning machine guns mounted on the wings. The Mark IV version also carried 2 x 250lb or 500lb bombs or fragmentation bombs. Some Hurricane Mark IVs were equipped with rocket projectiles.

Aircraft Accident Details

At the time of the accident, Hurricane W9112 was attached to 59 Operational Training Unit (59 OTU), 81 Group.

During local flying with 81 Group, the pilot of Hurricane W9112 flew into a hillside at 1,900ft, presumably in bad visibility, at 20.00 hrs [on 21 July 1941]. The exact cause was not known but the pilot had relatives in the area and he was warned not to fly over Ayrshire as the weather over the hills [in that region] was bad.¹

The accident occurred at Lowther Hill. This is in the vicinity of the present-day NATS Radar Station, and not far from the former lead mining village of Wanlockhead—the highest village in Scotland.

Site Access (vehicles):

Please note that access from Wanlockhead to the NATS Radar Station on Lowther Hill is by a private road with gates generally closed to all traffic except service vehicles.

¹Many thanks to Alan Leishman for providing accident and other details.

Aircraft Pilot Casualty

Sadly, the pilot of this aircraft died in this accident. He was:

Sgt George Stevenson (26) RCAF, (Pilot).

Sgt Stevenson was laid to rest at Carlisle (Dalston Road) Cemetery.

Pilot Photo

BELOW: Sgt Pilot George Stevenson, RCAF.

Photo of Sgt George Stevenson

Photo: Kindly provided by Alan Leishman

courtesy of Andy Smart

BELOW: Enlargement of obituary above.

obituary notice for George Stevenson

Crash Site Photos

Memorial Photos

BELOW: Memorial cross at Lowther Hill. This memorial is dedicated to Sgt George Stevenson, RCAF, who died when his Hurricane crashed at this location.

The Canadian flag flies above the cross, with the maple leaf and a model Hurricane attached to the upright post. A small plaque is attached to the cross-piece (see enlargement below).

Memorial cross at Lowther Hill

BELOW: A closer view of the memorial cross, showing the maple leaf emblem of Canada and the memorial plaque with a model Hurricane attached below the cross-piece.

closer view of memorial cross with plaque

BELOW: The above memorial plaque enlarged.

The memorial plaque enlarged

BELOW: Jim Eagles, a member of Dumfries and Galloway Aviation Museum, holds a piece of wreckage from the Hurricane crash at Lowther Hill.

remaining piece of wreckage at lowther hill

BELOW: Another view of this piece.

Another view of the remaining piece

BELOW: The approximate crash site of Hurricane W9112 can be seen labelled at the top-right of this photo. The former mining village of Wanlockhead lies in the valley below.

crash site of hurricane w9112 marked with cross.

BELOW: Situated at a doorway to a hotel in Wanlockhead, this propeller boss was recovered from the crash site of Hurricane W9112.

propeller blade from hurricane w9112

Photo Gallery

There are no additional photos in the Photo Gallery.

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Crash Date / Site

Accident Date: 21 Jul 1941

Accident Site:

Lowther Hill

(725m / 2,378ft)

(In vicinity of NATS (Air Traffic Control) Radar Station)

Region: Dumfries and Galloway

Nearest town or village:

Wanlockhead

Nearest large town:

Sanquhar (W)

OS Grid Ref. 71 / 90-12 (approx.)

GPS Ref. Available.

Present Condition: Wreckage dragged downhill and removed. Some small parts remained afterward (see photos below), but most of these have now been recovered. Little of interest now remains onsite.

Salvaged propeller boss from the Hurricane can be seen outside pub in Wanlockhead.