Date:	Friday 17 May 1940
Time:	14:30
Type:	Westland Lysander Mk II
Owner/operator:	16 Sqn RAF
Registration:	L4796
MSN:	KJ-S
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 3
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	Rocogne Hill, 2 km NE of Doingt, south-east of Péronne, Somme -   France
Phase:	Combat
Nature:	Military
Departure airport:	Bertangles, France
Destination airport:

Narrative:
Westland Lysander Mk.II L4796, (KJ-S) 16 Squadron, RAF: Written off (destroyed) when lost (failed to return) from a tactical reconnaisance over St. Quentin, France. Of the three crew, two were killed, one survived, but was injured. According to the official Air Ministry file on the incident (File AIR 81/419): "Lysander L4796 failed to return from a reconnaissance flight over France, 17 May 1940. Corporal E T Baillie and Flying Officer T W Walker missing presumed dead. Pilot Officer R E B White injured".

Crew of Lysander L4796:
Pilot Officer Leslie Montagu Hamilton (RAF 76906, pilot, aged 35) - missing in action - body not found/not recovered, commemorated on the Runnymede Memorial
LAC [535507] John P. O'Reilly, (Wireless Op./Air Gunner, aged 20) - killed in action, buried at Doingt Communal Cemetery Extension, Somme, France
Pilot Officer R E B White (Observer) - survived, injured, presumed evaded capture and returned to his unit.

Took off from Bertangles, France. Failed to return from tactical reconnaisance over St. Quentin 14.30 hrs. Believed to have crashed at Rocogne Hill, 2 km north east of Doingt, South East of Péronne, Somme department in Hauts-de-France, after being shot down as a Bf 109.

1. Royal Air Force Aircraft L1000-L9999 (James J. Halley, Air Britain, 1978 p 30)
2. National Archives (PRO Kew) File AIR 81/419: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C14502090
3. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/1799221/hamilton,-leslie-montagu/
4. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2952869/o'reilly,-john-patrick/
5. http://www.epibreren.com/ww2/raf/16_squadron.html
6. http://francecrashes39-45.net/page_fiche_av.php?id=3215
7. http://francecrashes39-45.net/recits_avions/l4796.pdf
8. http://www.rafcommands.com/archive/04102.php
9. Lysander L4796/KJ-S at Cranwell in 1939: https://www.flickr.com/photos/8270787@N07/3625325088

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
20-Jun-2011 10:11	ThW	Added
19-Jun-2013 10:30	Nepa	Updated [Time, Aircraft type, Operator, Location, Narrative]
21-Jul-2019 01:37	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Cn, Total occupants, Other fatalities, Location, Departure airport, Source, Narrative]