ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 228423
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| Date: | Monday 27 May 1940 |
| Time: | |
| Type: |  Bristol Blenheim Mk IV |
| Owner/operator: | 53 Sqn RAF |
| Registration: | R3703 |
| MSN: | PZ-L |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 3 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | St. Margaret's at Cliffe, 4 miles NE of Dover, Kent, England -
 United Kingdom
|
| Phase: | Combat |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | RAF Lympne, Kent (LYM/EGMK) |
Bristol Blenheim Mk.IV R6703 (PZ-L) 53 Squadron, RAF: Written off (destroyed) when lost (failed to return) from combat operations 27 May 1940. All three crew bailed out and survived. According to the official Air Ministry file into the incident (File AIR 81/616): "Blenheim R3703 crashed near Dover on return from reconnaissance flight over Belgium, 27 May 1940. Sergeant H J McRae, Aircraftman 1st Class R H Trafford and Pilot Officer K A Aldridge - injured"
Airborne from Lympne, Lympne, Kent for a reconnaissance flight over Belgium. Aircraft attacked by enemy fighters on the return leg from this mission; although severely damaged, to keep flying until in sight of the Kent coast. All three crew then abandoned the aircraft, and bailed out by parachute over St, Margaret's at Cliffe, four miles north east of Dover, Kent (at approximate co ordinates 51.1536°N 01.3714°E). All three crew survived, but were injured.
Crew of Blenheim R3703:
Pilot Officer Kenneth Arthur Aldridge (pilot, RAF 41976, aged 25)
Sergeant H J McRae (Observer)
AC.1 R H Trafford (Wireless Op./Air Gunner)
Pilot Officer Kenneth Arthur Aldridge rose through the ranks to become a Squadron Leader, but was killed in action on November 21 1943
Sources:
1. Royal Air Force Aircraft R1000-R9999 (James J Halley, Air Britain, 1980 p 23)
2. National Archives (PRO Kew) File AIR 81/616: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C14502308
3. http://www.lennonwylie.co.uk/lost_SecondElysianWarRoll.htm
4. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/1082637/aldridge,-kenneth-arthur/
5. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_Margaret%27s_at_Cliffe
History of this aircraft
Other occurrences involving this aircraft
| 9 May 1940 | L9331 | 53 Sqn RAF | 0 | near Poix-de-Picardie, Somme department in Hauts-de-France |  |
w/o |
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 22-Aug-2019 18:38 | Dr. John Smith | Added |
| 23-Aug-2019 16:29 | stehlik49 | Updated [Operator] |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
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