ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 228492
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| Date: | Monday 27 May 1940 |
| Time: | 14:30 LT |
| Type: |  Hawker Hurricane Mk 1 |
| Owner/operator: | 145 Sqn RAF |
| Registration: | P2723 |
| MSN: | SO-F |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | between Dunkerque and St. Omer, Pas de Calais, Nord Department -
 France
|
| Phase: | Combat |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | RAF Tangmere, Chichester, West Sussex |
Hawker Hurricane Mk.I P2723 (SO-F) 145 Squadron, RAF: Written off (destroyed) when lost (failed to return) from a combat air patrol over the Dunkerque-Calais sector 27 May 1940. Pilot killed According to the official Air Ministry file on the incident (File AIR 81/636): "Hurricane P2733 [*sic] in air operations over Dunkirk and Calais, France, 27 May 1940. Pilot Officer A Elson: missing presumed dead"
On 27th May though present the entire day on one or other of the different patrol lines, the RAF fighters were usually greatly outnumbered. Eleven Spitfires of No. 74 Squadron, for instance, gave battle to thirty Do.17's and Me.109's; five Hurricanes of No. 145 Squadron attacked the rear section of a Do.17 formation only to find themselves set upon by twenty or thirty Bf.110's; twenty Hurricanes and Spitfires of Nos. 56 and 610 Squadrons, trying to pick off a single He.111, at once ran into thirty or forty Me.110's.
But though the fighters could not prevent the enemy reducing the town and port of Dunkirk to rubble, they certainly spoiled his aim against the targets that mattered most—the harbour and the ships. For the damage did not, in spite of first impressions, make evacuation from the port impossible; and though there were a dozen concerted assaults against our vessels, as well as many individual attacks, not more than two ships were sunk.
Hurricane P2733 was shot down in aerial combat with Ju.88s and Bf-110s at around 14:30 hrs local time between Dunkerque and St. Omer, Pas de Calais, Nord Department, France, and reportedly crashed "at sea" (that is into the English Channel, off the French coast). As stated above, the pilot was killed.
Crew of Hurricane P2723:
Pilot Officer Alan Elson, RAF 41272, age 25, posted 27/05/1940, as missing presumed dead
As no trace of Hurricane P2723 was ever found, not was there ever any trace of its pilot, the pilot was commemorated on the Runnymede Memorial.
145 Squadron lost six Hurricanes that day - three at around 14:30 hours on the first combat air patrol, and a further three at around 19:45 hours on the second combat air patrol of the day. Of the six pilots involved, two were killed, one (Sgt A C Bailey) was captured, and the other three survived to be evacuated, returning by sea from Dunkirk to rejoin their unit.
Note that the official Air Ministry file (File AIR 81/636) is slightly incorrect - the Hurricane involved was P2723 and NOT P2733. No Hurricane was allocated the serial P2733 - it was a "black out block" of unused serials between P2733 and P2750.
Sources:
1. Royal Air Force Aircraft P1000-P9999 (James J Halley, Air Britain, 1977 p 16)
2. National Archives (PRO Kew) File AIR 81/636: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C14502057
3. https://www.icaew.com/library/historical-resources/guide-to-historical-resources/wartime-service/ww2/roll-of-honour-articled-clerks
4. http://www.epibreren.com/ww2/raf/145_squadron.html#2705
5. http://www.rafcommands.com/forum/showthread.php?8541&p=49571#49571
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 24-Aug-2019 22:44 | Dr. John Smith | Added |
| 27-Aug-2019 06:37 | stehlik49 | Updated [Operator] |
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