ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 213789
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| Date: | Sunday 13 July 1941 |
| Time: | night |
| Type: | Handley Page Hampden Mk I |
| Owner/operator: | 50 Sqn RAF |
| Registration: | AE230 |
| MSN: | VN-N |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 4 / Occupants: 4 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | Waltrop, 15 Km East of Recklinghausen, North Rhine-Westphalia -
 Germany
|
| Phase: | Combat |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | RAF Lindholme, North Yorkshire |
| RAF Lindholme, North Yorkshire |
12/ 13 July 1941-
BREMEN RAILWAY JUNCTION
12 aircraft bombed the railway junction at Bremen. Weather generally poor due to ground haze and many aircraft could not pin-point the primary target. Flak and fighter activity was intense around the target. Hampden X2919 was mauled by a Bf 110 night fighter, which put the bomb release gear out of action, Numerous other aircraft were also damaged. Two aircraft failed to return - Hampdens AE230 and AE226. Hampden AE230 was crewed by:
964468 Sgt Donald Onions, RAFVR (pilot, aged 23) - KIA body recovered for burial
759261 Sgt Peter Anthony Otho Windsor Mitchell, RAFVR (WOp/Air Gunner) - KIA, body recovered for burial
754933 Sgt James Austin, RAFVR (Navigator/Bomb Aimer, aged 24) - KIA, body recovered for burial, and
551030 Flight Sgt. William McLaren Crichton, RAF (WOp/Air Gunner, aged 21) - KIA, body recovered for burial
After take-off from RAF Lindholme at 22.15 hours, nothing further was heard from this crew who were posted missing. when the Hampden failed to return. All are buried at REICHSWALDFOREST WAR CEMETERY, Kleve, Nordrhein-Westfalen district, Germany (near the Dutchborder, 25 Km from Nijmegen). Note: this cemetery was opened post-war and all graves here have been brought in from all over Western Germany from cemeteries and isolated sites. It appears that Sgt. Austin survived the crash but died a few days later, on the 16/7/1941.
Possible cause was that the Hampden was shot down by Night fighter of 7/NJG 1 and place of crash is recorded as "2 Km East of Weltrup, Germany". However, no such location can be found; possibly a problem with the handwritten records. The crash locations is more likely to be WALTROP, a town in the district of Recklinghausen, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is situated on the Datteln-Hamm Canal, approximately 15 km east of Recklinghausen and 15 km north-west of Dortmund at approximate Coordinates: 51°37′N 07°23′E. In fact the crash location is neither Weltrup or Waltrop but WETTRUP and is confirmed, in German, on the community website for Wettrup itself.
Sources:
1. http://www.no-50-and-no-61-squadrons-association.co.uk/app/download/5802508903/50+SQUADRON+ORB+1939+1943+Revision+1.pdf
2. https://www.backtonormandy.org/component/mtree/air-force-operations/airplanes-allies-and-axis-lost/hampden/35055-RAF17317.html?Itemid=4210
3. 50 Squadron RAF ORB (Air Ministry Form 540): http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C2503123
4. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2040820/onions,-donald/
5. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2040445/mitchell,-peter-anthony-otho-windsor/
6. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2036631/austin,-james/
7. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2035910/crichton,-william-mclaren/
8. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waltrop
9. https://www.wettrup.de/gemeinde-wettrup/historie/weltkrieg-ii
History of this aircraft
Other occurrences involving this aircraft
| 31 August 1940 | L4079 | 50 Sqn RAF | 4 | Angerlo-Giesbeek, 14 km E of Arnhem, Gelderland |  |
w/o |
| 8 December 1940 | X3004 | 50 Sqn RAF | 4 | Mannesmann Röhrenwerke, Düsseldorf, Nordrhein-Westfalen | |
w/o |
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 29-Jul-2018 21:15 | Dr. John Smith | Added |
| 29-Jul-2018 21:17 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Narrative] |
| 12-Nov-2018 20:31 | Nepa | Updated [Operator, Operator] |
| 17-Dec-2021 18:29 | Anon. | Updated [Source, Narrative] |
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