Date:	Monday 27 May 1940
Time:	19:45
Type:	Hawker Hurricane Mk 1
Owner/operator:	145 Sqn RAF
Registration:	P3314
MSN:	SO-H
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	near Dunkirk - Pas de Calais, Nord -   France
Phase:	Combat
Nature:	Military
Departure airport:	RAF Tangmere, Chichester, West Sussex
Destination airport:

Narrative:
Hawker Hurricane Mk.I P3314 (SO-H) 145 Squadron, RAF: Written off (destroyed) 27 May 1940 when lost (failed to return) from combat air patrol over Dunkerque. Pilot survived, bailed out but was injured. According to the official Air Ministry file into the incident (File AIR 81/653): "Hurricane P3314 in air operations over Dunkirk and Calais, France, 27 May 1940. Pilot Officer E C J Wakeham - injured"

According to a biography of the pilot for this period (see link #6): "On the 27th he damaged a Bf110 but was stunned by a glancing bullet whilst attacking and lost consciousness. Wakeham came to after falling 5,000 feet and returned to the attack.

Later in the day he was shot down in Hurricane P3314, making a forced-landing between Ostend and Dunkirk. He joined the thousands of troops on the beaches and was evacuated by ship. He returned to Yelland Farm to convalesce and became a regular dart player at the local Church House Inn.Wakeham was awarded the DFC (gazetted 21st June 1940).

Note that several unofficial published sources state that Hurrricane P3314 may have crashed nearer to Ostende, Belgium, rather that the official location of Dunkerque or Calais.

Crew of Hurricane P3314:
Pilot Officer Ernest Cecil John Wakeham (pilot, RAF 41883, aged 19) - survived bailed out, injured, but recovered enough to return to England by boat via Dunkirk.

1. Royal Air Force Aircraft P1000-P9999 (James J Halley, Air Britain, 1978 p 19)
2. National Archives (PRO Kew) File AIR 81/653: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C14502236
3. Air Battle for Dunkirk: 26 May - 3 June 1940 By Norman Franks
4. Aces High: A Tribute to the Most Notable Fighter Pilots By Christopher Shores, Clive Williams
5. http://francecrashes39-45.net/page_fiche_av.php?id=7429
6. http://www.bbm.org.uk/airmen/Wakeham.htm
7. http://www.epibreren.com/ww2/raf/145_squadron.html#2705

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
26-Aug-2019 22:07	Dr. John Smith	Added
27-Aug-2019 06:39	stehlik49	Updated [Operator]
15-Nov-2022 05:58	Ron Averes	Updated [Location]