Date:	Friday 17 May 1940
Time:	06:30
Type:	Bristol Blenheim Mk IV
Owner/operator:	82 (United Provinces) Sqn RAF
Registration:	P4852
MSN:	UX-Q
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 3
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	Pancy-Courtecon, 26 km ENE Soissons, Aisne -   France
Phase:	Combat
Nature:	Military
Departure airport:	RAF Watton, Norfolk
Destination airport:	RAF Watton, Norfolk

Narrative:
Bristol Blenheim Mk.IV P4852 (UX-Q) of 82 (United Provinces) Squadron, RAF: Written off (destroyed) when lost (failed to return) on combat operations (Target: Gembloux, Belgium). Of the three crew, two survived and evaded capture, and one was killed. According to the official Air Ministry file on the incident (File AIR 81/410): "Pilot Officer F S Jackson - report of death. Squadron Leader M V Delap and Sergeant R F Wyness - uninjured; Blenheim P4852 crashed at Pancy, France, 17 May 1940".

On 17th May, 1940, twelve aircraft of 82 Squadron, based at Watton, in Norfolk, took off to attack troop concentrations at Gembloux, Belgium, where the German army was sweeping West towards the Channel ports. Blenheim P4852 (UX-Q) was airborne at 04:50 hrs from RAF Watton, Norfolk. One of the 12 Blenheims lost by 82 Squadron on this operation.

They were supposed to have a Hurricane fighter escort but they were intercepted before the escort arrived, and they had to proceed without their escorts. As they reached their target, 15 German Bf-109 fighters attacked them.

Eleven of them were shot down and the sole survivor (Blenheim Mk.IV P8858, UX-W), which was badly damaged, managed to reach RAF Watton, Norfolk, but it was written off due to the damage sustained.

Crew of Blenheim P4852:
Squadron Leader Miles Villiers Delap, DFC
Sgt R.F. Wyness, DFM
Pilot Officer Francis Stanley Jackson (Wireless Op./Air Gunner) RAF 43018, aged 22; killed in action, buried at Pancy-Courtecon Communal Cemetery, Aisne, France

Two of the three crew survived the incident, and are believed to have evaded capture and returned to their unit. Squadron Leader M V Delap and Sgt R F Wyness won their respective awards on 11 March 1940, together with Corporal Richards, in the same action, when P4852 became the first RAF aircraft to sink a U-boat, having scored two direct hits on U-Boat U-31 in the Schillig Roads. U-31 was spotted and attacked with 4 bombs and 2 hits were observed. The submarine disappeared and 58 crew died. U-31 was raised and recommissioned only to be sunk again in November 1940 (the only ever U-boat to be sunk twice).

The reported crash location of Pancy-Courtecon is a commune in the Aisne department and Hauts-de-France region of northern France at approximate Coordinates: 49°28′28″N 3°39′18″E

1. Royal Air Force Aircraft P1000-P9999 (James J Halley, Air Britain, 1978 p 26)
2. National Archives (PRO Kew) File AIR 81/410: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C14502081
3. The Squadron That Died Twice - The story of No. 82 Squadron RAF by By Gordon Thorburn
4. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2689573/jackson,-frances-stanley/
5. http://francecrashes39-45.net/page_fiche_av.php?id=941
6. http://www.epibreren.com/ww2/raf/82_squadron.html#1705
7. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pancy-Courtecon
8. https://www.facebook.com/BBMF.Official/posts/2055474441174225?comment_id=2055502554504747&comment_tracking=%7B%22tn%22%3A%22R%22%7D
9. https://www.tracesofwar.com/persons/51223/Delap-Miles-Villiers.htm?c=aw
10. https://www.dnw.co.uk/auction-archive/special-collections/lot.php?specialcollection_id=221&lot_id=78842

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
02-Jan-2012 10:08	Uli Elch	Added
02-Jan-2012 10:13	Uli Elch	Updated [Total fatalities]
18-Jul-2019 23:37	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Time, Cn, Operator, Other fatalities, Location, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative]
18-Jul-2019 23:48	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Source, Narrative]
19-Jul-2019 06:59	stehlik49	Updated [Operator]
27-Jun-2022 06:19	Ron Averes	Updated [Location]