‘Druid’ crash site at Hood Hill, near Sutton Bank, is desecrated

The Ministry of Defence today joined the North York Moors National Park and the Forestry Commission in appealing for an immediate end to the “macabre, dangerous and criminal” search for the highly collectable remains of the Cold War plane at Hood Hill, near Sutton Bank.

In recent weeks, an unknown number of military aircraft collectors have used metal detecting equipment in a bid to locate parts of Flying Officer Colin “Snatch” Grabham’s Sabre aircraft.

It plunged on to the isolated hill-top in mysterious circumstances in 1954 after taking off from RAF Linton-on-Ouse, north of York.

A spokesman for the Ministry of Defence said: “It is highly likely the remains of Flying Officer Grabham are still on the site and therefore the site should be treated with the respect it deserves.

“In addition, there is a chance that ordnance may remain at the site and it can become unstable when exposed to the air, leading to death or serious injury.

“We would remind people that it is an offence under the Protection of Military Remains Act to tamper with, damage, move or unearth any remains and crashed UK military aircraft and their equipment remain the property of the Crown. Anyone who breaches the act is reminded they could face civil or criminal proceedings.”

Days after the crash on September 21, 1954, the Yorkshire Gazette and Herald reported how the 23-year-old 92 Squadron pilot had smashed the high-subsonic speed plane into a 20-ton boulder, creating a massive blaze which “lit up the district” and left a large crater on the hill’s ridge.

The boulder, which was known to locals as The Altar, was a local landmark and Graham Lee, North York Moors National Park’s senior archaeological conservation officer, said it can be seen on old photos of the area.

Local legend claims the stone was marked with a dinosaur footprint and had been an ancient druid’s sacrificial stone.

Mr Lee said the digging near the crash crater, which was on a public right of way, was also restricted by law due to its historic importance as the site of a medieval fortification that was forfeited to King Henry I.

Mr Lee said: “The digging has been restricted to the plane crash site. This is a criminal offence that is happening at a very remote spot. It is very quiet – you have to be able to read a map to get there.

“Unfortunately, this does go on – there are individuals who are sufficiently fanatical about their hobby to show a complete disregard to the law.

“Since the crash, there have always been some bits of metal at the site, but there is nothing big and the majority of the remains were collected immediately after the incident.

“It is very hard ground – it is a unique geological landscape – so it is very unlikely anything of significance would be buried in the ground.”

RAF Linton-on-Ouse historian Alan Mawby said the accident report indicated Fg Off Grabham’s aircraft was written off and the damage was such there was nothing of value left. Despite this lack of financial incentive, military aircraft experts said collectors target remnants of Sabre planes as the swept-wing aircraft was rare and “very pretty”.

Bill Napier, collections co-ordinator at Yorkshire Air Museum, in Elvington, said the Sabre’s value to collectors has been increased by it being a “stop-gap for the RAF” before more advanced jet fighters were introduced and it featured a camouflage livery.

There were only two Sabre squadrons in the UK, one of which undertook exercises at Linton-on-Ouse between February 1954 and April 1956. The plane’s collectability is further raised by it being a frontline RAF aircraft during the Cold War – an interesting period for many military plane enthusiasts.

Days after the crash, about 800 people in York took part in a civil defence exercise, in which ten enemy aircraft were said to have raided an atomic weapons factory south of the city with a nuclear weapon.

The Forestry Commission, which owns the land surrounding the crash site, said it is monitoring the situation and considering what other action can be taken to prevent souvenir hunters from disturbing the area.

Death on Hood Hill mystery

AT 9.15pm on Tuesday, September 21, 1954, Flying Officer Colin “Snatch” Grabham was returning to RAF Linton-on-Ouse after a high-altitude night cross-country training flight in a F4 Sabre jet plane.

An hour after take-off, the 23-year-old pilot radioed the 92 Squadron air base to say he was nearby and was given several vectors to steer.

A few minutes later he was contacted by Linton Control Tower to say he was over the airfield. This signal was acknowledged.

Just over two minutes later, the aircraft crashed at a near vertical angle of descent into a massive rock on Hood Hill, near Sutton Bank, and 11 miles north of Linton-on-Ouse. Fg Off Grabham, of Dover, was killed instantly.

Farmers in their homes more than a mile away from Hood Hill saw a vivid flash and heard a bang when the jet hit the rock.

“Everything was lit up by a very bright light”, said Jack Ward, of Kilburn, days after the incident.

Parts of the plane were found more than a mile away from where the Sabre hit the boulder.

Before the crash, several reports concerning faults in the undercarriage of the Sabre plane – later used by Fg Off Grabham – were filed, but no faults were found following investigations.

Following the crash it was suspected an incorrect part had been fitted to Sabre XD733.

However, 92 Squadron leader Rupert Woodcraft told Fg Off Grabham’s inquest at Thirsk he did not know why the pilot, who had amassed 136 hours flying time on the jet when it crashed, did not land at the base. And senior aircraftman Eric Robinson gave evidence that Fg Off Grabham had been “perfectly well” before take-off.

Air crash investigators say it is most likely that Fg Off Grabham thought the lights at Topcliffe Airfield – a short distance from Sutton Bank – were those of Linton-on-Ouse.