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Date: | Friday 31 May 1940 |
Time: | 19:20 |
Type: | Westland Lysander Mk II |
Owner/operator: | 16 Sqn RAF |
Registration: | L4793 |
MSN: | KJ-V |
Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 2 |
Aircraft damage: | Substantial |
Location: | English Channel, between Dunkirk and Nieuport, Pas de Calais -
France
|
Phase: | Combat |
Nature: | Military |
Departure airport: | RAF Lympne, Lympne, Kent (LYM/EGMK) |
Destination airport: | |
Narrative:Westland Lysander Mk.II L4793 (KJ-V) 16 Squadron, RAF: Written off (destroyed) 31 May 1940 when shot down over Dunkerque, France. Both crew killed. According to the official Air Ministry file into the incident (File AIR 81/705): "Lysander L4793 failed to return from air operations over Dunkirk, France, 31 May 1940. Temporary Sergeant A Beard and Pilot Officer G W V Biden: missing presumed dead"
Took off from RAF Lympne, Kent. Mission: Tactical Reconnaisance over the Dunkirk-Calais sector, tasked to search for bombing targets and observation of own troops. Aircraft failed to return. Shot down by Major Freiherr von Berg (Gruppenkommandeur) of Stab III./JG26 and crashed in Channel between Dunkirk and Nieuport (Nieuwpoort) 19.20 hrs.
Crew of Lysander L4793:
Pilot Officer Guy William Vernon Biden, RAF 77778, posted 31/05/1940, as missing presumed killed
Sergeant Alfred Beard, RAF 628185, age 18, posted 31/05/1940, as missing presumed killed
As no trace of Lysander L4793 or the crew of two was ever found, they are commemorated on the Runnymede Memorial.
Sources:
1. Royal Air Force Aircraft L1000-L9999 (James J Halley, Air Britain, 1978 p 30
2. National Archives (PRO Kew) File AIR 81/705:
https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C14502482 3.
https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/1529777/biden,-guy-william-vernon/ 4.
https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/1083622/beard,-alfred/ 5. Peter D. Cornwell, The Battle of France, Then and Now, 2008
6.
http://www.epibreren.com/ww2/raf/16_squadron.html#3105 7.
8.
9.
Revision history:
Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
27-May-2011 14:37 |
ThW |
Added |
19-Jun-2013 10:55 |
Nepa |
Updated [Time, Aircraft type, Operator, Narrative] |
30-Sep-2015 05:42 |
sandman56 |
Updated [Narrative] |
08-Apr-2019 20:56 |
Dr. John Smith |
Updated [Date, Time, Registration, Total fatalities, Total occupants, Other fatalities, Location, Departure airport, Source, Damage, Narrative] |
01-Sep-2019 21:44 |
Dr. John Smith |
Updated [Date, Time, Cn, Operator, Location, Source, Narrative] |
02-Sep-2019 08:45 |
stehlík49 |
Updated [Operator] |