Date:	Tuesday 18 June 1940
Time:	06:00
Type:	Supermarine Walrus
Owner/operator:	15 Gp CF RAF on loan to 10 Sqn RAAF
Registration:	L2312
MSN:
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 4 / Occupants: 4
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	Kerbiquet north and near Ploudaniel, Brittany -   France
Phase:	En route
Nature:	Military
Departure airport:	RAF Mount Batten, Plymouth, Devon
Destination airport:

Narrative:
Supermarine Walrus L2312, 15 Group Communications Flight RAF (on loan to 10 Squadron RAAF): Written off (destroyed) when lost (Failed To Return) from operations. All four crew killed. According to the official Air Ministry file into the incident (File AIR 81/987): "Walrus L2312 crashed whilst on a secret mission to the north coast of France, 18 June 1940. Temporary Corporal B F Nowell report of death"

Walrus L2312 was on a special mission. Departed RAF Mount Batten, Plymouth, Devon, about 03:00 hours. Manned by 10 Squadron RAAF crew. At last moment a seconded ground crew radio operator, Cpl Felix Nowell RAF, boarded as radio operator/gunner.
Carrying a SIS officer in plain clothes, the amphibian was to land in Brittany under the direction of the SIS Officer who would endeavour to locate the wife and children of General Charles de Gaulle to enable them to be flown to Britain.

Body of SIS officer initially identified as Sgt Bennett now presumed to be an alias and correctly named as (substantive rank) 2nd Lt Norman Hope but often referred to as Captain - appointment/death certificates as 2nd Lt.

The German Army was advancing through Brittany and was expected to be in the area in a few hours time. The aircraft collided with the ground but nothing is there to confirm there was any attempted landing in fog. All on board were killed in the crash.

Crew of Walrus L2312
Flight Lt John Napier "Dinger" Bell RAAF AUS/162, aged 24 (10 Squadron, RAAF), pilot.
Sgt Charles William Harris RAAF AUS/1730, aged 30 (10 Squadron, RAAF), Observer
Corporal Bernard Felix Nowell, RAF 565931, aged 25, Wireless/Electrical Mechanic (W/T Operator)
Captain Norman Edward Hope, British Army, 141140 Special Intelligence Service (note not SOE) passenger.

All four crew were buried in adjacent graves at Ploudaniel Churchyard, Finistere, France. Flt Lt Bell and Sgt Harris were the first RAAF casualities of WWII

1. Royal Air Force Aircraft L1000-L9999 (James J Halley, Air Britain, 1978 p 17)
2. National Archives (PRO Kew) File AIR 81/987: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C14502438
3. https://www.awm.gov.au//catalogue/research_centre/pdf/rc09125z003_1.pdf
4. Four Men and the Walrus (book) - by Alan Hall
5. http://web.archive.org/web/20141004223838/http://www.awm.gov.au:80/blog/2014/09/25/rescuing-de-gaulles/
6. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2814005/bell,-john-napier/
7. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2814006/harris,-charles-william/
8. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2814008/nowell,-bernard-felix/
9. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2814007/hope,-norman-edward/
10. http://aircrewremembered.com/bell-john.html
11. https://davidjbsmith.weebly.com/the-flight-of-the-walrus.html
12. https://www.behance.net/gallery/17977863/Exhibition-Supermarine-Walrus-L2312 (French text)
13. https://www.abc.net.au/local/stories/2012/07/26/3554318.htm
14. http://www.aircrewremembrancesociety.co.uk/styled-5/styled-7/styled-486/index.html
15. https://www.facebook.com/commonwealthforces/posts/2452405778174473:0
16. https://www.baaa-acro.com/crash/crash-supermarine-walrus-i-ploudaniel-4-killed
17. http://ww2talk.com/index.php?threads/any-info-on-the-walrus-aircraft-sent-to-rescue-madame-de-gaulle-1940.49556/
18. http://www.rafcommands.com/forum/showthread.php?16125-Walrus-15-GCF-June-1940
19. http://www.epibreren.com/ww2/raf/10_RAAF_squadron.html#1806
20. https://www.ouest-france.fr/bretagne/ploudaniel-29260/une-exposition-en-lhonneur-des-aviateurs-du-walrus-2669948

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
22-Nov-2013 04:48	angels one five	Added
22-Nov-2013 05:05	angels one five	Updated [Narrative]
20-Mar-2015 22:03	Jixn	Updated [Time, Operator, Location]
28-Mar-2015 10:20	angels one five	Updated [Time, Operator, Location]
02-Jun-2015 13:25	ABBA	Updated [Time, Operator, Narrative]
09-Feb-2016 12:05	Alan Hall	Updated [Time, Operator, Location, Phase, Nature, Destination airport, Source, Embed code, Narrative]
14-Feb-2016 07:48	AlLah	Updated [Time, Operator, Narrative]
13-Nov-2018 07:02	Nepa	Updated [Operator, Destination airport, Operator]
03-Oct-2019 16:57	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Departure airport, Source, Narrative]
03-Oct-2019 17:04	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Destination airport, Source, Narrative]
03-Oct-2019 17:10	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Source]
09-Oct-2019 02:05	angels one five	Updated [Narrative]
05-Nov-2019 22:37	Anon.	Updated [Operator, Destination airport, Operator]