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Date: | Sunday 12 May 1940 |
Time: | 09:20 LT |
Type: | Fairey Battle Mk I |
Owner/operator: | 12 Sqn RAF |
Registration: | L5439 |
MSN: | |
Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 3 |
Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
Location: | near Neerharen, Limburg -
Belgium
|
Phase: | Combat |
Nature: | Military |
Departure airport: | Amifontaine, France |
Destination airport: | |
Narrative:Fairey Battle Mk.1 L5439 (PH-N) 12 Squadron, RAF: Written off (destroyed) when lost on combat operations. All three crew survived, but were taken as PoWs. According to the official Air Ministry File on the incident (File AIR 81/292): "Battle L5439 crashed near Maastricht, The Netherlands, 12 May 1940. Pilot Officer I A McIntosh, Sergeant N T W Harper and Leading Aircraftman R P MacNaughton prisoners of war".
Crew of Battle L5439:
Pilot Officer I.A.McIntosh (Pilot) - survived, captured, taken as PoW; interned Camps L1/L3, PoW No.104.(Australian national serving in the RAF).
Sgt N.T.W.Harper (Observer) - survived, captured, taken as PoW; interned in Camps L1/L6/357, PoW No.88.
LAC R.P.MacNaughton (Wireless Op./Air Gunner) - survived, captured, taken as PoW; in Camps 8B/L3/L1, PoW No.13048
Battle L5439 was airborne at 08:22 hrs from Amifontaine with orders to destroy a metal bridge (the Veldwezelt Bridge) spanning the Albert Kanaal near Maastricht, Netherlands. Hit by Flak in main fuel tank and crash-landed, on fire, near Neerharen (Limburg), 14 km SE of Genk, Belgium.
According to a published account of the operation L5439 was the second of a formation of three 12 Squadron Fairey Battles to attack this bridge (the others being P2204/PH-K and L5277/PH-J):
"They flew below the cloud base at 1000 feet and on reaching the Veldwezelt area started a shallow bombing run. There were estimated to be some 300 guns entrenched in a defensive ring around the bridge, and the aircraft was blasted into the ground.
The second Battle L5439, piloted by P/O I A McIntosh, was hit in the main fuel tank, setting the aircraft ablaze, he jettisoned his bombs and made a forced landing and survived as a prisoner of war".
Sources:
1. Royal Air Force Aircraft L1000-L9999 (James j Halley, Air Britain 1978)
2. The Battle File (Sidney Shail, Air Britain, 1997)
3. National Archives (PRO Kew) File AIR 81/292:
https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C14142141 4.
http://www.626-squadron.co.uk/willem29.htm 5.
http://www.epibreren.com/ww2/raf/12_squadron.html 6.
http://aircrewremembered.com/norman-thomas.html 7.
http://forum.12oclockhigh.net/showthread.php?t=39837 8.
http://www.binbrook.demon.co.uk/html/Fairey_Battle.html 9.
http://www.wickenbymuseum.co.uk/Museum/Newsletters/Newsletter%20January%202013.pdf 10.
https://www.hangarflying.eu/erfgoedsites/monument-bemanning-fairey-battle-l5227/ Revision history:
Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
28-Jun-2019 22:47 |
Dr. John Smith |
Added |
30-Jun-2019 10:27 |
stehlik49 |
Updated [Operator] |
07-Nov-2022 19:57 |
Ron Averes |
Updated [Location] |