ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 228038
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| Date: | Wednesday 22 May 1940 |
| Time: | morning |
| Type: |  Hawker Hurricane Mk 1 |
| Owner/operator: | 605 (County of Warwick) Sqn RAF |
| Registration: | L2121 |
| MSN: | UP-T |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | St. Pol-sur-Turnoise, Arras, Pas-de-Calais, Hauts de France -
 France
|
| Phase: | Combat |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | RAF Hawkinge, Folkestone, Kent |
Hawker Hurricane Mk.I L2121 (UP-T) of 605 (County of Warwick) Squadron, RAF: Written off (destroyed) when lost (failed to return) from a combat air patrol between Abbeville, Pas de Calais, France and Ostend, Belgium. Pilot wounded in action, and became a PoW when discharged from hospital. According to the official Air Ministry file into the incident (File AIR 81/517): "Hurricane L2121 failed to return from an operational flight over Arras, France, 22 May 1940. Flight Lieutenant P G Leeson - prisoner of war".
According to a published account of 605 (County of Warwick) Squadron for the period (22-23 May 1940): "May 22. We were called at about 04.00 hours and took off at first light. We were very keen to have a go at the Germans, having spent a rather uncomfortable winter chasing them around the North of Scotland, in terrible weather from a somewhat primitive airfield, with very little success.
The Squadron carried out a patrol in to France behind Calais and Boulogne without seeing any other aircraft, it was the last time that we had that pleasure during our stay at Hawkinge! We took off again at about 1100 hours and the two flights got separated over France. 'A' Flight was jumped by 109s and lost a couple of pilots.
'B' Flight got itself split into two sections in cloud. My Section, in which I was number three, came across two He 111s at about 5000 feet, about 500 feet below us. The section leader saw them but did not attack, No 2 and myself took one each and set them on fire. I was excited and went alongside, whereupon the front gunner gave me a burst, including two through the canopy.
I then dropped back and shot a couple of crew members getting out of the top of the canopy. The 111 went down in a spin and crashed in a field. On getting back to Hawkinge, I got an enormous strip torn off for leaving the Section Leader. I was not ever credited with destroying that He 111".
Crew of Hurricane L2121:
Flight Lt Patrick George Leeson (pilot) RAF 90250 - bailed out, sustained burn injuries. Detained in hospital for nine months to recover from injuries at St. Pol-sur-Turnoise. Upon release from hospital, officially assigned as a PoW (with PoW number 469) and spent the rest of the war interned in PoW Camp Stalg Luft III, Sagan, Poland.
The reported crash location of Saint-Pol-sur-Ternoise is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in northern France, at approximate Coordinates: 50°22′47″N 2°20′06″E.
Sources:
1. Royal Air Force Aircraft L1000-L9999 (James J Halley, Air Britain, 1978 p 15)
2. National Archives (PRO Kew) File AIR 81/517: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C14502138
3. http://www.605squadron.co.uk/We%20Never%20Slept%20-%20The%20Story%20of%20605%20Squadron.pdf
4. http://www.epibreren.com/ww2/raf/605_squadron.html#2205
5. http://francecrashes39-45.net/page_fiche_av.php?id=7557
6. https://www.badseysociety.uk/people/leeson/patrick
7. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint-Pol-sur-Ternoise
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 08-Aug-2019 20:45 | Dr. John Smith | Added |
| 09-Aug-2019 05:53 | stehlik49 | Updated [Operator] |
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