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Auction: 25111 - Orders, Decorations and Medals - e-Auction
Lot: 577

The group of seven to Flight Lieutenant L. P. Stuart-Smith, Royal Air Force, who flew as a test pilot but was tragically killed on 23 April 1959 when the Avro Super Trader IV aeroplane, which was carrying top secret equipment en route to Woomera, Australia, crashed into Mount Suphan, Turkey

1939-45 Star; Africa Star, clasp, North Africa 1942-43; Italy Star; France and Germany Star; Defence and War Medals 1939-45; Air Efficiency Award, E.II.R. (Flt. Lt. L. P. Stuart-Smith. R.A.F.V.R.), court mounted as worn, light toning to the last, otherwise very fine (7)

Air Efficiency Award London Gazette 6 January 1955.

Laurence Patrick Stuart-Smith was born at Epping, Essex on 2 August 1922. He enlisted into the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve on 27 January 1941, and served in the Middle East and Italy. He was granted an Emergency Commission as a Pilot Officer in the General Duties Branch of the R.A.F.V.R. on 22 April 1943, promoted to Flying Officer (War Substantive) on 22 October 1943 and to Flight Lieutenant (War Substantive) on 22 April 1945. He finished his Second World War service serving with the Pathfinder Force flying Mosquitoes. He relinquished his Emergency Commission and was granted a Commission as a Flying Officer in the General Duties Branch of the R.A.F.V.R. on 11 June 1947.

Stuart-Smith was promoted to Flight Lieutenant on 1 March 1951 and was awarded a Short Service Commission as a Flight Lieutenant in the Royal Air Force on 12 June 1952 and was then awarded a Permanent Commission as a Flight Lieutenant in the General Duties Branch on 1 April 1953. Stuart-Smith attended the Empire Test Pilot's School in 1954 and flew as a test pilot out of Boscombe Down, Wiltshire in 1955. He was placed on the Retired List on 15 August 1956 and joined Aviation Traders Ltd who were based at Southend Airport and made the maiden flight of the ATL-90 Accountant on 9 July 1957.

He died in the air crash of 23 April 1959 when Avro Super Trader IV G-AGRH flew into Mount Suphan, Turkey, where all 12 passengers and crew were killed.

G-AGRH was owned by Air Charter Limited, departed Ankara, Turkey, for a flight to Bahrain, which was a leg of a long cargo flight from the United Kingdom to Woomera Airfield in Australia. The aircraft was carrying twelve men and top-secret equipment for Woomera rocket range. Between Ankara and Teheran it used an air corridor which would take it over the middle of Lake Van, Turkey's largest lake, almost surrounded by mountains and situated close to the Soviet-Armenian border.

At 08:14, the aircraft passed over Gemerek at FL115 and at 08:59 it passed over Elazig at FL135. The last position report was received at 09:26 over Mus. The aircraft had crashed and was found six days later on Mount Süphan, a little north of Lake Van.

A special Royal Air Force mountain rescue team of six men from Nicosia, Cyprus reached the crash site at the top of the mountain some days later and demolished the plane wreckage with explosives after retrieving several important documents.

There was unproven speculation that there were nuclear warheads in the cargo. An anonymous source alleged that, some years later, some local villagers who went to the wreck were diagnosed with cancer and died due to high exposure to the radioactive substances.

The official investigation into the accident concluded that the aircraft, which had been flying on instruments, drifted north of its normal track because of strong winds and crashed into the mountain. Stronger-than-forecast winds may have been a contributing factor – an accurate bearing could not be obtained at Mus, and the wind forecast at Van had not been checked. In addition to this, sub-normal temperatures would have resulted in a high indicated altimeter reading and calculations on the flight and contacts with beacons were not coordinated and controlled; sold with copied research.

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Estimate

Starting price
£140