Portsdown Hill, 6 November 1940

[JamesD]

Hi all, first of all I'm James, from Portsmouth UK

I'm doing some research into a pair of Hurricanes that crashed on Portsdown Hill overlooking Portsmouth on the 6th of November 1940. One was flown by Sergeant H.H. Adair of 213 squadron, who was shot down by Major Helmut Wick. Around 3.5 miles away to the East Flying Officer James Tillett of 238 Squadron was shot down, it is believed also by Wick but this is unconfirmed.

I'm planning to have a look at the records at the National Archives in Kew to see what I can glean from Operational Record Books and Combat Reports. I have had a look at the Portsmouth Evening News but nothing was reported at the time. I have however found a report from October 1979 when Sergeant Adair's plane was excavated by the Wealden Aviation Archaeological Society. The Hurricane was apparently found 12 feet down in the chalk, crumpled into a 4 foot section of metal. Sergeant Adair's remains were recovered, however the local coroner decided not to hold an inquest and Adair is still listed as Missing and on the Runneymede memorial. Tillett's body was recovered and he is buried in St Anns Cemetery in Gosport. Both are remembered by memorial stones near their respective crash sites.

Specificallu I would like to be able to investiage the suggestion that Tillett was shot down by Major Wick. In general I would like to be able to find out more about what happened over Portsdown Hill that day.

I just wondered if anyone might have any suggestions for sources I might not have thought about? Does anyone know what became of the Wealden Aviation Archaeology Group? And are there any Luftwaffe archives that might shed some light on what happened?

many thanks, and I'll be sure to post up anything that i find out