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Date: | Friday 3 November 1939 |
Time: | day |
Type: | Saunders Roe A.27 London Mk II |
Owner/operator: | 240 Sqn RAF |
Registration: | K9686 |
MSN: | BN-K |
Fatalities: | Fatalities: 6 / Occupants: 6 |
Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
Location: | North Sea, between Grip and Brattvær on Smøla -
Norway
|
Phase: | En route |
Nature: | Military |
Departure airport: | RAF Sullom Voe, Shetland Isles |
Destination airport: | RAF Sullom Voe, Shetland Isles |
Confidence Rating: | Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources |
Narrative:Saunders Roe A.27 London Mk.II, K9686 ("BN-K") of 240 Squadron, RAF: Missing (failed to return) on recon mission to Norwegian coast 3 November 1939. All six crew were killed (officially "missing, presumed dead"). A Norwegian source (see link #5) gives the crash location as "between Grip and Brattvær on Smøla" off the Norwegian coast at approximate coordinates: 63°24′N, 07°48′E. (Norway was still a neutral country at the time).
Only one body recovered - that of AC.1 C Wilson, who was landed on Sauøy north of Frøya. He was first buried in Kristiansund on December 24, 1939. He was moved to Stavne War Cemetery at Trondheim on 9 May 1946, row C grave no. 3.
Crew:
Pilot: 37428 Flt.Lt. John MacLachlan Harvey Sinclair RAF killed.
565335 Sgt. Thomas Edward Page RAF killed.
519767 AC.1 John Canning Lewis RAF killed.
534026 LAC Arthur James Saffin RAF killed.
538736 AC.1 Cornelius Wilson RAF killed.
543862 Corporal. Denis Dermot Kane RAF killed.
AC.1 Wilson rests in Stavne Cemetery, Trondheim, Norway while the rest of the crew are commemorated on the Runnymede Memorial to the Missing. HMS Newcastle and escorts set sail from Sullom Voe and searched for this aircraft, to largely no avail.
The Norwegian source (see link #5) states that K9686 had been stripped of its markings and RAF roundels, and may have been involved in a clandestine operation. It is known that the aircraft was "shadowing" a ship, the US-flagged "City of Flint" in Norwegian waters.
Sources:
1. Coastal Command Losses of the Second World War Vol 1.
2. Royal Air Force Aircraft K1000-K9999 (James J. Halley, Air Britain, 1976 p 78)
3. National Archives (PRO Kew) File AIR 81/39:
https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C14142122 4.
http://www.rafcommands.com/archive/03337.php 5.
http://www.nordmore.museum.no/bes%C3%B8k-oss/kristiansund/nedskytingen-av-flyb%C3%A5ten-london-ii-utenfor-grip (Norwegian text)
6.
https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/1807217/sinclair,-john-maclachlan-harvey/ 7.
https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/1803746/page,-thomas-edward/ 8.
https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/1803387/lewis,-john-canning/ 9.
https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2940811/saffin,-arthur-james/ 10.
https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2186347/wilson,-cornelius/ 11.
https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/1802455/kane,-denis-dermot/ 12.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brattv%C3%A6r Revision history:
Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
16-Nov-2015 05:02 |
JINX |
Added |
16-Nov-2015 07:36 |
JINX |
Updated [Narrative] |
07-Jan-2016 20:37 |
Shout |
Updated [Operator, Narrative] |
03-Jun-2019 21:51 |
Dr. John Smith |
Updated [Time, Aircraft type, Cn, Operator, Other fatalities, Location, Source, Narrative] |
03-Jun-2019 21:52 |
Dr. John Smith |
Updated [Source] |
04-Jun-2019 04:17 |
stehlik49 |
Updated [Operator] |