ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 228146
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| Date: | Monday 20 May 1940 |
| Time: | 10:00 LT |
| Type: |  Hawker Hurricane Mk 1 |
| Owner/operator: | 87 Sqn RAF |
| Registration: | N2710 |
| MSN: | LK-J |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | near Arras, Pas-de-Calais, Hauts-de-France -
 France
|
| Phase: | Combat |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | Merville, France |
Hawker Hurricane Mk.I N2710 (LK-J) 87 Squadron, RAF: Written off (destroyed) when lost (failed to return) from a combat air patrol on 20 May 1940. Pilot survived, but wounded, died of wounds three days later. According to the official Air Ministry file into the incident (File AIR 81/546): "Hurricane N2710 crashed near Arras, France, 20 May 1940. Pilot Officer R A Sanders: report of death. Died on board Hospital Ship Worthing, 23 May 1940"
Shot down by Bf-110s in combat over base and crashed north-west of Arras 10.00 a.m. Pilot Officer R. A. Sanders badly wounded - died 23 May. Aircraft a write-off.
Richard Atheling Sanders of No.145 Squadron had arrived at Lille-Marcq with a replacement aircraft a few days earlier and stayed to fly operations with No. 87 Squadron. Having survived this crash, and an air attack on the ambulance train to Dunkirk, he is believed to have died of injuries aboard the Hospital Ship 'Worthing' en-route to England. Officially, he died at Shorncliffe Military Hospital in Kent, as that was where the death certificate was issued, and where he was buried.
Crew of Hurricane N2710:
Pilot Officer Richard Atheling. Sanders, RAF 41872, age 20, died of wounds 23/05/1940, buried at Shorncliffe Military Cemetery, Kent, UK
According to a contemporary newspaper report:
"Leicester Mercury - 28th May 2010
Pilot Officer Richard Atheling Sanders (1920-40), who was born in Leicestershire, died of wounds received in action 70 years this month – yet his sacrifice does not appear to be commemorated on any memorial. This information was sent to me by David H J Schenck, of Salfords, near Redhill, Surrey, who discovered the omission while researching the story of an ancient farmhouse. Although he is not related to the Sanders family, he was concerned by what he learned.
Richard Sanders was born on April 20, 1920, in Oadby, the eldest son of horticulturist and Great War veteran, Ft Lt James William Sanders, and his wife, Mary. The family later moved to Market Bosworth and then to 39 Western Park Road, Leicester. At the age of 18, Richard Sanders enlisted in the RAF during the war crisis of 1938-9. He was commissioned as Pilot Officer (No 41872) on April 1, 1939, and listed in the London Gazette on April 18.
Having flown a replacement aircraft from 145 Squadron, based at Tangmere, Sussex, to Lille-Marcq Aerodrome, near Lille, France, Richard remained on to fly a Hawker Hurricane aircraft in air operations with 87 Squadron, from their airfield in Merville.
During a patrol on May 20, 1940, Richard was shot down by a Messerschmitt Bf 110 while in combat over the Merville airbase. Seriously wounded, he was taken to Dunkirk by ambulance train, and again survived when it was subjected to an air attack during the journey. Richard was then transported on the Hospital Ship Worthing and taken to Shorncliffe Military Hospital, in Kent, where, tragically, he died from his injuries on May 23, 1940, just one month after his 20th birthday. He was buried in the Shorncliffe Military Cemetery.
When, on May 20, Richard had taken off on his last patrol, the situation at Merville airfield was already desperate and, on May 21, it was hastily evacuated just before being overrun by the advancing German Army later that day. Mr Schenck says: "Sadly, the name of Richard Atheling Sanders does not appear to have been remembered on any of the war memorials in Leicestershire, the county in which he was born and lived, although I am now hopeful this will be rectified. Bearing in mind that it's the 70th anniversary of Richard's death, I am hopeful that you may find space to include this small reminder of his short life for those in Leicestershire who may still remember him."
Note that the pilot was actually a member of 145 Squadron, RAF, and he was involved in operational combat air patrols after having being "pressed into service" with 87 Squadron. He should have returned to his unit in England, but was persuaded to stay and "join the fight". However, due to a "slip of the pen", the official records state that the pilot and his Hurricane were with 81 Squadron - a non-combat communications unit which flew Tiger Moths and not Hurricanes!
Sources:
1. Royal Air Force Aircraft N1000-N9999 (James J. Halley, Air Britain. 1977 p
2. National Archvies (PRO Kew) File Air 81/546: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C14502034
3. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2655268/sanders,-richard-atheling/
4. http://francecrashes39-45.net/page_fiche_av.php?id=7550
5. http://sussexhistoryforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=7442.0
6. http://www.epibreren.com/ww2/raf/87_squadron.html#2005
7. http://www.rafcommands.com/archive/18764.php
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 12-Aug-2019 19:31 | Dr. John Smith | Added |
| 13-Aug-2019 06:47 | stehlik49 | Updated [Operator] |
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