Date:	Wednesday 10 April 1940
Time:	18:30
Type:	Fairey Battle Mk I
Owner/operator:	226 Sqn RAF
Registration:	K9183
MSN:
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 3
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	Hirzenhaff Farm, south of Bettendorf -   Luxembourg
Phase:	Manoeuvring (airshow, firefighting, ag.ops.)
Nature:	Military
Departure airport:	Champagne Aerodrome, Rheims, France
Destination airport:

Narrative:
Fairey Battle Mk.1 K9183 (MQ-R) of 226 Squadron, RAF: Lost on combat operations - officially described as "Battle K9183 crash landed at Bettendorf, Luxembourg, 10 May 1940". Airborne 17:00 hrs from Reims/Champagne. As it was impossible to provide fighter escort the bombers were briefed to make a very low approach to target and attack from as little as 250 foot (80 meters) using bombs with a delayed fuse.

Intense small arms fire was encountered and three Battles of the first wave were shot down. A similar fate befell the second wave during the afternoon. Of the 32 Battles that took part that day, 13 were lost and all the rest damaged.

Battle K9183 was reportedly shot down by small arms fire whilst flying at five feet. Hit by ground fire during dive-bombing of enemy columns between Wallendorf and Diekirch and crashed at Hirzenhaff Farm, south of Bettendorf, at 18.30 hrs. Of the three crew, one died of injuries, the other two captured, taken as PoWs

Crew of Battle K9183:
Flying Officer (Pilot) Douglas A. Cameron, RAF 39455, age 25, died of injuries 13 May 1940, buried at Diekirch Communal Cemetery, Luxembourg
Sgt C.S. Hart, captured and taken as PoW, interned in Camps 8B/L1, PoW No.13092
AC.1 John G. Ward, captured and taken as PoW, interned in Camp L1, from whence he subsequently escaped 17 April 1941, made a "home run" (safe return to UK via Odessa) arriving 21 March 1945. Awarded Military Cross.

Flying Officer Cameron was very badly wounded and died three days later during surgery to save arm in Diekirch hospital.

1. Royal Air Force Aircraft K1000-K9999 (James J Halley, Air Britain, 1976 p 75)
2. The Battle File by Sidney Shail (Air Britain 1997 p 130)
3. National Archives (PRO Kew) File AIR 81/234: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C14142059
4. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2259020/cameron,-douglas-alexander/
5. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Ward_(RAF_officer)#Royal_Air_Force_service
6. http://www.epibreren.com/ww2/raf/226_squadron.html
7. http://www.rafcommands.com/archive/10294.php
8. http://ww2talk.com/index.php?threads/sgt-j-g-ward-raf-542939.59013/
9. https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/local-news/mystery-of-birmingham-war-hero-whose-247993

Fairey Battles of No. 226 Squadron RAF undergoing servicing on the flight line at Reims-Champagne. The aircraft on the right, K9183 'MQ-R', was shot down by ground aircraft fire while attacking enemy columns south-west of Luxembourg on 10 May 1940. Its pilot died of his wounds, but the other two crew members survived.

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
17-Jun-2019 21:55	Dr. John Smith	Added
18-Jun-2019 02:44	stehlik49	Updated [Operator]