ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 228515
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| Date: | Monday 27 May 1940 |
| Time: | 14:30 LT |
| Type: |  Hawker Hurricane Mk 1 |
| Owner/operator: | 145 Sqn RAF |
| Registration: | P4523? |
| MSN: | SO-A |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | Saint-Pierre-Brouck, 19 km SW of Dunkerque, Nord Department -
 France
|
| Phase: | Combat |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | RAF Tangmere, Chichester, West Sussex |
Hawker Hurricane Mk.I P4523 (SO-A) 145 Squadron, RAF: Written off (destroyed) when lost (failed to return) for a combat air patrol over the Dunkerque-Calais sector on 27 May 1945. Pilot killed. According to the official Air Ministry file on the incident (File AIR 81/640): "Hurricane P4523 [*sic], crashed at Saint-Pierre-Brouck, France, 27 May 1940. Pilot Officer P H O'C Rainier: report of death"
On 27th May 1940, 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 P4523 was shot down in aerial combat with Ju.88s and Bf-110s at around 14:30 hrs local time over Saint-Pierre-Brouck, 19 km South West of Dunkerque, Pas de Calais. The pilot was killed. 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.
Crew of Hurricane P4523:
Pilot Officer (Pilot) Peter Harvey O'Callaghan Rainier, RAF 41869, age 20, 27/05/1940, buried at Longuenesse (St. Omer) Souvenir Cemetery, Pas de Calais, France
The reported crash location of Saint-Pierre-Brouck (from Dutch Sint-Pietersbroek, meaning "Saint-Peter's marsh"; West Flemish: Sint-Pieters-Broek)) is a commune in the Nord department in northern France, 19 km south west of Dunkerque, at approximate Coordinates: 50°53′47″N 2°11′14″E
Note that some unofficial later published accounts put P/O Peter Harvey O'Callaghan Rainier in Hurricane N2713, one of the other 145 Squadron Hurricanes lost in this combat air patrol. However, the AIR 81 files (and AIR 81/638 in particular) confirm that Hurricane N2713 was being piloted by Pilot Officer John Henry Ashton (RAF 77456). On the other hand, the serial quoted in the official records - P4523 - was not allocated to a Hurricane, but was part of a batch of cancelled Avro Anson Mk.1s serialled between P4420 and P4573.
Sources:
1. Royal Air Force Aircraft P1000-P9999 (James J Halley, Air Britain, 1978
2. National Archives (PRO Kew) File AIR 81/640: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C14502061
3. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2279928/rainier,-peter-harvey-o'callaghan/
4. http://francecrashes39-45.net/page_fiche_av.php?id=5117
5. http://www.epibreren.com/ww2/raf/145_squadron.html#2705
6. http://www.rafcommands.com/forum/showthread.php?8541&p=49571#49571
7. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint-Pierre-Brouck
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 25-Aug-2019 22:42 | Dr. John Smith | Added |
| 27-Aug-2019 06:38 | stehlik49 | Updated [Operator] |
| 13-Nov-2023 11:24 | Anon. | Updated [Total occupants, Narrative] |
| 22-Apr-2024 07:45 | CornetPlayer | Updated [[Total occupants, Narrative]] |
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