Date:	Thursday 13 June 1940
Time:	20:10 LT
Type:	Fairey Battle Mk I
Owner/operator:	226 Sqn RAF
Registration:	P2161
MSN:
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 3
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	La Chapelle-Moutils (Seine et Marne), 30 km NNW of Provins -   France
Phase:	Combat
Nature:	Military
Departure airport:	Artins, France
Destination airport:	Faux-Villecerf, France

Narrative:
Fairey Battle P2161 (MQ-R) 226 Squadron, RAF: Written off (destroyed) when lost (Failed To Return) from combat operations over Northern France. Of the three crew, two were killed, and one survived. According to the official Air Ministry file into the incident (File AIR 81/905): "Battle P2161 crashed at La Chapelle-Veronge, France, 13 June 1940. Sergeant E E Hopkins: uninjured. Sergeant L Turner and Sergeant J B Callaghan: report of deaths"

Airborne from Artins, France, to attack troop convoys at La Chapelle-Veronge, France. Shot down by Bf 109 during attack on troop concentration at 20:10 and crashed near La Chapelle-Moutils, Seine-et-Marne, France. Of the three crew, only the pilot survived.

Crew of Battle P2161:
Sgt E.E. Hopkins (Pilot) - survived, uninjured, returned to his unit
Sergeant (Observer) James Benedict Callaghan, RAF 565694, age 25, killed in action 13/06/1940
Sergeant (Wireless Op./Air Gunner) Leslie Turner, RAFVR 751657, age 21, killed in action 13/06/1940

Both crew fatalities were buried at La Chapelle-Moutils Communal Cemetery, Seine-et-Marne, France. The reported crash location of La Chapelle-Moutils is a commune in the Seine-et-Marne department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France, 30 km North North West of Provins, at approximate Coordinates: 48°46′30″N 3°23′29″E

1. Royal Air Force Aircraft P1000-P9999 (James J Halley, Air Britain, 1978 p 12)
2. National Archives (PRO Kew) File AIR 81/905: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C14502607
3. The Battle File (Sidney Shail, Air Britain, 1997 p 164)
4. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2235280/callaghan,-james-benedict/
5. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2235281/turner,-leslie/
6. http://francecrashes39-45.net/page_fiche_av.php?id=223
7. http://www.epibreren.com/ww2/raf/226_squadron.html#1306
8. http://www.oldhaltonians.co.uk/pages/rememb/ROH/C.htm
9. http://forum.12oclockhigh.net/showpost.php?p=187196&postcount=2
10. https://www.anciens-aerodromes.com/?p=33864
11. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Chapelle-Moutils

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
07-Aug-2008 10:17	Anon.	Added
09-Jun-2015 09:09	Angel dick one	Updated [Aircraft type, Operator, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source]
09-Jun-2015 09:10	King T.	Updated [Location]
27-Sep-2019 23:03	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Date, Time, Registration, Operator, Total fatalities, Total occupants, Other fatalities, Location, Country, Phase, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Damage, Narrative]
28-Sep-2019 10:18	stehlik49	Updated [Operator]