What happened
The pilot was performing a landing on runway 31, noting that winds appeared calm based on observations of a nearby smoke stack and the midfield windsock. The aircraft was established on short final with three notches of flaps and an airspeed of 65 knots in preparation for a three-point landing.
Upon touchdown, the main wheels made contact with the runway slightly before the tailwheel. Once on the runway, the pilot applied full aft elevator, retracted the manually operated flaps, and applied light braking. During this phase, the aircraft suddenly veered to the left.
The pilot reported that rudder control was inadequate and noted that attempting to apply power worsened the yawing motion. In an effort to correct the deviation, the pilot retarded the throttle to idle, applied full up elevator, and utilized hard right rudder and hard braking. Despite these inputs, the aircraft continued to yaw left, eventually resulting in the right wingtip impacting the ground.
The investigation
The pilot reported that there were no mechanical malfunctions with the aircraft during the event.