ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 228119
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| Date: | Thursday 23 May 1940 |
| Time: | day |
| Type: |  Hawker Hurricane Mk 1 |
| Owner/operator: | 242 ("All Canadian") Sqn RAF |
| Registration: | P3392 |
| MSN: | LE-N |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | Ecques, 8 km south of St Omer, Pas de Calais, Hauts de France -
 France
|
| Phase: | Combat |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | RAF Biggin Hill, Bromley, Kent |
Hawker Hurricane Mk.I P3392 (LE-N) 242 (Canadian) Squadron, RAF: Written off (destroyed) when lost (failed to return) from a combat operation over Cambrai, France 23 May 1940. Pilot bailed out, survived, but was captured and taken as PoW. According to the official Air Ministry file into the incident (File AIR 81/539): "Hurricane P3392 crashed near Arras, France, 23 May 1940. Pilot Officer J B Smiley: prisoner of war".
Reportedly shot down by a Bf-109 of 1./JG.1 while escorting Blenheim bombers to to attack targets in the Cambrai area. Hurricane P3392 was one of six claimed shot down this day. It's very likely that P/O Smiley was shot down by Balthasar, who claimed 3 Hurricanes out of the 6 claimed by his unit. Biggin Hill lost 6 Hurricane (4 of 242 Squadron and 2 of 32 Squadron). From the Cambrai-Douai-Arras triangle, the battle moved north and ended near St Omer.
Pilot: Pilot Officer John Beverley Smiley, RAF 42156, aged 25. Bailed out, but injured; captured and taken as a PoW (PoW No. 943). Interned in PoW Camp Stalg Luft III, Sagan, Poland. Promoted to Flight Lt while in captivity.
Hurricane P3392 reportedly crashed at Ecques, a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region of France at approximate coordinates: 50°40′15″N 2°17′14″E, 8 km south of St Omer, about 3 or 4 km north-west of Throuanne, on a lane leading to the "Chateau de Quiestede"
Sources:
1. Royal Air Force Aircraft P1000-P9999 (James J Halley, Air Britain, 1978 p 20)
2. National Archives (PRO Kew) File AIR 81/539: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C14502027
3. http://francecrashes39-45.net/page_fiche_av.php?id=3915
4. http://www.rafcommands.com/archive/17096.php
5. http://www.epibreren.com/ww2/raf/242_squadron.html#2305
6. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecques
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 11-Aug-2019 23:28 | Dr. John Smith | Added |
| 11-Aug-2019 23:28 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Source] |
| 13-Aug-2019 06:51 | stehlik49 | Updated [Operator] |
| 13-Apr-2020 14:28 | INV | Updated [Operator, Operator] |
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