Date:	Wednesday 22 May 1940
Time:	day
Type:	Fairey Battle Mk I
Owner/operator:	88 Sqn RAF
Registration:	P2356
MSN:
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 3 / Occupants: 3
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	Springen, near Bingen-am-Rhine, Mainz-Bingen, Rhineland-Palatinate -   Germany
Phase:	Manoeuvring (airshow, firefighting, ag.ops.)
Nature:	Military
Departure airport:	Les Grandes Chappelles, France
Destination airport:

Narrative:
Fairey Battle Mk.I P2356 (RH-B) 88 Squadron, RAF: Written off (destroyed) when lost (failed to return) from combat operations 22 May 1940. All three crew killed. According to the official Air Ministry file into the incident (File AIR 81/570): "Battle P2356 crashed at Springen, Germany, 22 May 1940. Sergeant E Hibbert, Aircraftman 2nd Class M Whelan and Pilot Officer A E Wickham - report of deaths".

Fairey Battle P2356 was airborne from Les Grandes Chappelles to attack targets in the area of Bingen-am-Rhine, Germany. Shot down in the battle area, probably by Flak/AAA; aircraft exploded in flight (when bomb load ignited) with all three crew killed.

Crew of Battle P2356:
Pilot Officer (Pilot) Albert E. Wickham, RAF 36200, age 22, killed in action 23/05/1940
Sergeant (Observer) Edward Hibbert, RAF 564863, killed in action 23/05/1940
Aircraftman 2nd Class (Wireless Op./Air Gunner) Matthew Whelan, RAF 630351, age 19, killed in action 23/05/1940

All three crew fatalities were buried at Durnbach War Cemetery, Bayern, Germany. The officially stated crash location of Springen is near the target area of Bingen am Rhein, a town in the Mainz-Bingen district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany at approximate Coordinates: 49°58′N 7°54′E.

1. Royal Air Force Aircraft P1000-P9999 (James J Halley, Air Britain, 1978 p 13)
2. National Archives (PRO Kew) File AIR 81/570: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C14502208
3. The Battle File (Sidney Shail, Air Britain, 1997 p 168)
4. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2103514/wickham,-albert-edgar/
5. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2101864/hibbert,-edward/
6. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2103485/whelan,-matthew/
7. http://www.oldhaltonians.co.uk/pages/rememb/ROH/22.htm
8. http://aircrewremembered.com/wickham-albert-edgar.html
9. http://ww2talk.com/index.php?threads/whelan-88-sqn-23-5-40.9858/

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
15-Aug-2019 01:31	Dr. John Smith	Added
15-Aug-2019 05:12	stehlik49	Updated [Operator]