ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 227900
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| Date: | Wednesday 22 May 1940 |
| Time: | 20:10 |
| Type: |  Westland Lysander Mk II |
| Owner/operator: | 2 Sqn RAF |
| Registration: | L6849 |
| MSN: | KO-U |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 2 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | near Pihen-lès-Guînes, Pas-de-Calais, Hauts-de-France -
 France
|
| Phase: | Combat |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | RAF Lympne, Lympne, Kent (LYM/EGMK) |
Westland Lysander Mk.II L6849 (KO-U) 2 Squadron, RAF: Written off (destroyed) when lost (failed to return) for a combat operation on 22 May 1940. One of the two crew was killed, the other captured and taken as a PoW. According to the official Air Ministry file into the incident (File AIR 81/501): "Lysander L6849 crashed near Boulogne, France, 22 May 1940. Pilot Officer M L G Henderson - report of death. Pilot Officer V Kelly - prisoner of war"
Took off from RAF Lympne, Kent to attacked enemy motorised troop columns south of Boulogne. Shot down by ground fire (Flak/AAA) during bombing attack on roads between Étaples and Boulogne. Crashed near Pihen-lès-Guînes at 20.10 hrs. Earlier the same day, the same Lysander (L6849/KO-U), with a different crew (Flying Officer Doidge as pilot) claimed a Henschel Hs 126 destroyed, his gunner claimed a Ju 87 destroyed, at 17.00 hrs over Merville.
Crew of Lysander L6849:
Pilot Officer (Pilot) Malcolm Lessels George Henderson, RAF 33407, age 21, killed in action 22/05/1940, buried at Pihen-les-Guines War Cemetery, Pas de Calais, France
Pilot Officer (Air Gunner) V.B. Kelly - survived unhurt, but captured and taken as a PoW
The reported crash location of Pihen-lès-Guînes is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region of France, 7 miles (11 km) southwest of Calais, at approximate coordinates: 50°52′20″N 1°47′15″E.
Sources:
1. Royal Air Force Aircraft L1000-L9999 (James J Halley, Air Britain. 1978 p 46)
2. National Archives (PRO Kew) File AIR 81/501: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C14502122
3. http://francecrashes39-45.net/page_fiche_av.php?id=4381
4. http://www.epibreren.com/ww2/raf/2_squadron.html#2205
5. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2280491/henderson,-malcolm-lessels-george/
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 05-Aug-2019 01:17 | Dr. John Smith | Added |
| 05-Aug-2019 01:18 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Narrative] |
| 05-Aug-2019 06:35 | stehlik49 | Updated [Operator] |
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