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One day another pilot and I were sent to Madras to collect some new planes that had just arrived. This was completely routine stuff.

That evening, in Madras, the other pilot telephoned me and said he was in a party, drinking quite a bit, and wanted to sleep it off before flying the new plane back. Our schedule said that he would take the first one and I would be second. Would I mind swapping and going first so that he could get a bit more sleep? I agreed, and flew the first plane back. He was due to follow with the second one a couple of hours later.

As his expected arrival time came, there was no sign of him. Time went by, several hours passed. We telephoned Madras who said he’d taken off three hours previously. There was no trace of him anywhere. No one could explain how a brand new plane could go missing with such an experienced pilot flying it. Then the plane was discovered… Someone flying over the southern tip of India spotted the wreckage of a plane in a paddy field, the plane I should have been flying. It was smashed to bits and he was dead. A major enquiry took place.

Apparently this was an entirely new kind of plane we’d never had before. Its wings were made from laminated wood designed for use in temperate climates. There had been several instances of its wings falling off because in sub-tropical or tropical climates the sun melted the glue. The wings had simply fallen off!

This story was submitted to the People’s War site by Becky Barugh and Graham Brown of the ´óÏó´«Ã½ Radio Shropshire CSV Action Desk on behalf of Russell Billson and has been added to the site with his permission. Mr Billson fully understands the site's terms and conditions.

See more of Russell's stories and photographs:

• 1) I was so fascinated that I enrolled on the spot!
• 2) I had the time of my life
• 3) Flying Walruses
• 4) A Jack-of-all-trades
• 6) Extra careful
• 7) Badly needed at home
• 8) Shocking statistics
• Aircraft qualified to fly as first pilot
• Operational Airfields and Bases
• World War Two Key Dates

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