ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 136968
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| Date: | Saturday 18 May 1940 |
| Time: | 12:50 |
| Type: |  Hawker Hurricane Mk I |
| Owner/operator: | 229 Sqn RAF |
| Registration: | P2676 |
| MSN: | RE-H |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | Planques, Pas-de-Calais department, Hauts-de-France -
 France
|
| Phase: | Combat |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | |
Hawker Hurricane Mk.I P2676 (RE-H) 229 Squadron, RAF: Written off (destroyed) when lost (failed to return) from air combat operations over Antwerp, Belgium, 18 May 1940. Pilot killed. According to the official Air Ministry file into the incident (File AIR 81/491): "Pilot Officer D de C C Gower: report of death; Hurricane crashed at Planques, France, 21 May 1940".
Believed shot down by a Bf 109 of Ltn. Hans-Jürgen Hepe: 2 5./JG 2 or Fw. Karl-Heinz Harbauer: 2 4./JG 2. pilot Pilot Officer Desmond deCourcy Creagh Gower baled out, but was killed.
Crew of Hurricane P2676:
Pilot Officer Desmond deCourcy Creagh Gower (Pilot, Service Number 40905) aged 20, killed in Action 21/05/1940, buried at Etaples Military Cemetery, Pas De Calais, France
The reported crash location of Planques is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region of France, at approximate coordinates: 50°27′47″N 2°04′57″E. Note that the pilot was killed, contrary to most unofficial published reports that he survived.
Sources:
1. Royal Air Force Aircraft P1000-P9999 (James J. Halley, Air Britain, 1978 p 15)
2. National Archives (PRO Kew) File AIR 81/491: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C14502193
3. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2279153/gower,-desmond-de-courcy-creagh/
4. http://www.epibreren.com/ww2/raf/229_squadron.html#1805
5. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Planques
6. https://www.wwwmp.co.uk/ceredigion-memorials/llechryd-council-school-war-memorial/
7. http://ww2talk.com/index.php?threads/raf-losses-may-1940-an-update.16940/page-11#post-198681
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 29-Jun-2011 02:36 | ThW | Added |
| 06-Jan-2012 07:15 | Nepa | Updated [Time, Aircraft type, Operator, Narrative] |
| 24-Jul-2019 15:41 | Nepa | Updated [Location, Narrative, Operator] |
| 03-Aug-2019 23:42 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Cn, Other fatalities, Location, Country, Source, Narrative] |
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