ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 203550
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| Date: | Wednesday 20 May 1942 |
| Time: | 02:24 |
| Type: |  Short Stirling Mk I |
| Owner/operator: | 7 Sqn RAF |
| Registration: | W7520 |
| MSN: | MG-S |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 7 / Occupants: 7 |
| Other fatalities: | 2 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | Dorpsstraat, Brustem, Sint-Truiden, Limburg -
 Belgium
|
| Phase: | Combat |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | RAF Oakington, Cambridgeshire |
Takeoff at 22:58 hrs for an operation to Mannheim in Germany.
Oberleutnant Friedrich 'Fritz' Gutezeit, Staffelkapitän of the 6./NJG 1 and his Funker Unteroffizier Januschewski intercepted homeward-bound 7 Sqn Stirling W7520 over Brustem.
The aircraft exploded plunging burning wreckage into the Bf 110 E-1 coded G9+HP. The two aircraft crashed at Brustem killing both crews.
Pilot:65540 Flt Lt Hector Garrick Pilling DFC - Heverlee War Cemetery Coll. grave 3. C. 13-16.
2nd Pilot:46894 Plt Off Ronald Arthur Bowker - Heverlee War Cemetery Coll. grave 3. C. 13-16.
Flight Engineer:940014 Sgt William Helliwell - Heverlee War Cemetery Coll. grave 3. C. 13-16.
Navigator:J/5694 Plt Off Irvine Frank Hoidas RCAF - Heverlee War Cemetery Coll. grave 3. C. 13-16.
Wireless Operator/Air Gunner:R/61780 Sgt William Henry Bracken RCAF - Heverlee War Cemetery 3. C. 11.
Wireless Operator:R/65242 Flt Sgt Gerald John Patrick Kearns MID RCAF - Heverlee War Cemetery 3. C. 10.
Air Gunner:125315 Plt Off Clifford Lewis - Heverlee War Cemetery 3. C. 12.
Pilot Officer Bowker is also remembered on a family grave in Gap Road Cemetery, Wimbledon. See source 6 for details.
Sources:
1. CWGC
2. Bomber Command Losses 1942
3. Nachtjagd Combat Archive The Early Years part two
4. https://luchtvaartgeschiedenis.be/content/stirling-te-brustem
5. Google Maps
6. https://www.iwm.org.uk/memorials/item/memorial/73184
History of this aircraft
Other occurrences involving this aircraft
| 30 June 1942 | N3706 | 7 Sqn RAF | 5 | North Sea 35 km NW Vlieland, Friesland |  |
w/o |
| Mid-air collision | ||||||
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 29-Dec-2017 16:22 | Red Dragon | Added |
| 12-Nov-2018 16:59 | Nepa | Updated [Operator, Departure airport, Destination airport, Operator] |
| 20-Apr-2020 14:00 | TigerTimon | Updated [Other fatalities, Location, Source, Narrative] |
| 20-Apr-2020 14:05 | TigerTimon | Updated [Location] |
| 29-Jun-2022 11:17 | Ron Averes | Updated [Location] |
| 15-Jun-2023 10:38 | Richard | Updated [[Location]] |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
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