ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 227339
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| Date: | Saturday 18 May 1940 |
| Time: | afternoon |
| Type: |  Bristol Blenheim Mk IV |
| Owner/operator: | 15 Sqn RAF |
| Registration: | P6917 |
| MSN: | LS-T |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 3 / Occupants: 3 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | near Landrecies, 12 km NE of Cateau-Cambrecies, Nord -
 France
|
| Phase: | Combat |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | Abbeville/Drucat, France |
Bristol Blenheim Mk.IV P6917 (LS-T) 15 Squadron, RAF: Written off (destroyed) when lost (failed to return) from a raid on Le Cateau, France. All three crew killed. According to the official Air Ministry file on the incident (File AIR 81/412): "Blenheim P6917 crashed at Landrecies, France, 18 May 1940. Sergeant B E Colbourn, Leading Aircraftman E J Fagg and Flight Lieutenant P G Chapman - report of deaths".
Bristol Blenheim Mk.IV P6917 was airborne at 12:30 from RAF Wyton, Huntingdonshire, England, to position to Abbeville/Drucat Aerodrome in France for this operation. Reportedly shot down by flak/AAA and crashed near Landrecies (Nord), 12 km North East of Cateau-Cambrecies, a small town on the southern edge of the Forêt de Mormal, France. All three crew were killed.
Six Blenheims of 15 Squadron were dispatched, with orders to "hit the target at all costs" even if this meant that no fighter cover was available. Four Blenheims were shot down (P6917, L8852, L8853 and L9030)
Possible claim by Hptm Alexander von Winterfeldt 3/JG2 - Landreciers at 17:05L.
Crashed near Landrecies 12km North East of Le Cateau-Cambresis.
Crew
Pilot: 37718 Flt Lt Paul Geoffrey Chapman - Landrecies Communal Cemetery Row C Grave 4.
Observer: 580435 Sgt Cecil Ernest Colbourn - Landrecies Communal Cemetery Row C Grave 6.
Wireless Operator/Air Gunner: 540232 LAC Ernest John Fagg - Landrecies Communal Cemetery Row C Grave 5.
All three crew fatalities were buried at Landrecies Communal Cemetery, Nord, France. The reported crash site of Landrecies is a commune in the Nord department in northern France, at approximate Coordinates: 50°07′29″N 3°41′22″E
Sources:
1. Royal Air Force Aircraft P1000-P9999 (James J Halley, Air Britain, 1978 p 37)
2. National Archives (PRO Kew) File AIR 81/412: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C14502083
3. http://francecrashes39-45.net/page_fiche_av.php?id=1928
4. http://www.epibreren.com/ww2/raf/15_squadron.html#lc
5. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2276858/baxter,-william/
6. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2276862/dawson-jones,-francis-desmond/
7. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2276865/watts,-cyril-grace/
8. http://ww2talk.com/index.php?threads/raf-losses-may-1940-an-update.16940/page-9#post-197587
9. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landrecies
History of this aircraft
Other occurrences involving this aircraft
| 11 June 1940 | L9024 | 15 Sqn RAF | 1 | Freneuse-sur-Risle (Eure), 15 km SE of Pont-Audemer | |
w/o |
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 19-Jul-2019 01:30 | Dr. John Smith | Added |
| 19-Jul-2019 06:59 | stehlik49 | Updated [Operator] |
| 14-Jun-2022 10:57 | Anon. | Updated [Narrative] |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
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