ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 1707
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| Date: | Wednesday 8 July 1942 |
| Time: | night |
| Type: | Boulton Paul Defiant Mk II |
| Owner/operator: | Northolt SD Flt RAF |
| Registration: | AA543 |
| MSN: | |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 2 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | Turnfield Avenue, Aldenham, Elstree, Hertfordshire -
 United Kingdom
|
| Phase: | Initial climb |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | RAF Northolt, Middlesex |
Boulton Paul Defiant Mk.II AA543, Special Duties Flight, RAF Northolt. Written off (damaged beyond repair) 8 July 1942. Crashed after engine failure at Turnfield Avenue, Aldenham, Elstree, Hertfordshire. Of the two crew, one was killed and one was injured
Crew of Defiant AA543:
Pilot Officer Cyril Henry LEONARD (112339) RAFVR, Observer, aged 21 - killed on active service 8 July 1942. Buried at Rose Hill Cemetery, Oxford
Pilot Officer B. Simmonds RAF (pilot) injured.
The death of the Observer was briefly reported in the "Oxford Mail" (see link #6)
"MR. CYRIL LEONARD
Death of East Oxford Pilot-Officer Reported
The death has occurred, while on service with the R.A.F. of Pilot Officer Cyril Leonard, aged 21, the only son of Mr. and Mrs. H.W. Leonard, of 17, James-street Oxford.
An old boy of Southfield School, Oxford, he was at one time on the staff of Stephenson and Co. (Oxford). Ltd., builders’ merchants, of Botley-road. He had been in the R.A.F. for some time, having joined up as a volunteer."
and
"PILOT-OFFICER CYRIL LEONARD, of the R.A.F., who, at the age of 21, as reported in the “Oxford Mail,” has been killed on active service. He was the only son of Mr. and Mrs. H.W. Leonard, of 17, James-street, Oxford, and had been in the R.A.F. for three years. He was educated at Southfield School, Oxford, and before volunteering for service was a member of the staff of Henry J. Greenham, Ltd., builders’ merchants, of Oxford."
515 Squadron was formed from Defiant Flight, also known as Special Duties Flight – an electronic countermeasures unit equipped with the Boulton Paul Defiant Mk.II – at RAF Northolt on 1 October 1942. It moved to RAF Heston later that month. As part of 11 Group, 515 Sqn performed radar jamming duties, using Moonshine and Mandrel equipment.
From May 1943, 515 Sqn re-equipped with the Bristol Beaufighter Mk.IIF.
Sources:
1. Royal Air Force Aircraft AA100-AZ999 (James J Halley, Air Britain 1987)
2. Oxford Mail 9 July 1942
3. CWGC: https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/2421695/cyril-henry-leonard/
4. http://www.rafcommands.com/database/serials/details.php?uniq=AA543
5. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No._515_Squadron_RAF#Fighter_Command
6. https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/collections/document/36559
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 08-Feb-2008 01:22 | JINX | Added |
| 17-Jan-2012 13:38 | Nepa | Updated [Operator, Departure airport, Narrative] |
| 27-Nov-2019 14:48 | Nepa | Updated [Operator, Departure airport, Source, Narrative, Operator] |
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