ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 229004
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| Date: | Tuesday 9 July 1940 |
| Time: | 11:45 |
| Type: |  Bristol Blenheim Mk IV |
| Owner/operator: | 21 Sqn RAF |
| Registration: | R3732 |
| MSN: | YH-L |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 3 / Occupants: 3 |
| Aircraft damage: | Aircraft missing |
| Location: | Missing - North Sea. -
 Denmark
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | RAF Lossiemouth, Moray, Scotland |
Blenheim R3732/L: "Took off at 08:00 hrs for a Bombing mission to Stavanger in Norway. 09/07/1940
One of seven aircraft assigned to this task (five aircraft from 21 Squadron and two from 57 Squadron). Aircraft did not return from this mission. Lost in sea without trace. Claimed as having been shot down by an aircraft of JG 77. No survivors among the crew of three. At 11:45 hrs the Blenheim reported to base that it had sustained battle damage. After that nothing was heard.
According to a published Danish source, roughly translated into English, which explains why the pilot of Blenheim R3732 ended up in Denmark:
".W/Cdr Leslie Clive Bennett managed to escape with his plane despite significant damage. At 11:45hrs, Wing Commander Bennett was in radio contact with another aircraft and he could tell that his injuries were so extensive that he could not reach back to England, and that he would attempt an emergency landing at sea.
RAF Kinloss maintained the radio connection with W/Cdr Bennett until 12:31 hrs. Despite an intensive search they were unable to find clues after the location of the plane and its crew. The body of Wing Commander Bennett was found on Lønstrup beach on September 28, 1940, and immediately afterwards he was buried in Lønstrup cemetery.
The body of Wing Commander Bennett was handed over to the German military authorities in Hjørring, who then authorized the funeral to be conducted through the Hjørring police chief. The funeral ceremony began with a prelude over the "God Save the King", after which the parish priest J F Lind Thomsen held the funeral speech, followed by half a hundred Lønstrup citizens and the German commander in Hjørring, Hauptmann Zimmermann.
The Lønstrup lifeboat crew carried the coffin to the grave where the parish priest scattered earth over the coffin, and 21 German soldiers shot salutes over the grave."
Crew:
W/Cdr (16216) Leslie Clive BENNETT (NZ.Pilot) RAF - killed
Sgt (563808) Albert Thomas SUMMERS (Obs.) RAF - killed
Sgt (629928) Christopher James BURT (WOp/AG) RAF - killed
As no trace of Sgt Summers and Sgt Burt was ever found, they are commemorated on the Runnymede Memorial. As noted above Wing Commander Leslie Clive Bennett was buried with full military honours at Lønstrup Cemetery in Denmark.
Sources:
1. Royal Air Force Aircraft R1000-R9999 (James J Halley, Air Britain, 1980)
2. National Archives (PRO Kew) File AIR 81/1057: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C14502669
3. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2271396/bennett,-leslie-clive/
4. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/1808233/summers,-albert-thomas/
5. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/1530914/burt,-christopher-james/
6. http://www.aucklandmuseum.com/war-memorial/online-cenotaph/record/C17747
7. https://www.nzwargraves.org.nz/casualties/leslie-clive-bennett
8. https://www.airmen.dk/a053001.htm
9. http://www.roll-of-honour.com/Sussex/Chichester.html ..
History of this aircraft
Other occurrences involving this aircraft
| 28 May 1940 | L8744 | 21 Sqn RAF | 1 | Clairmarais Forest, 2 km E of St-Omer (Pas-de-Calais) |  |
w/o |
| 21 June 1941 | V6450 | 21 Sqn RAF | 3 | near Lumbres south of St. Omer. | |
w/o |
| 28 August 1941 | V6436 | 21 Sqn RAF | 3 | behind the Govert van Wijnkade road, Maassluis, Zuid-Holland |  |
w/o |
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 13-Sep-2019 15:35 | Nepa | Added [Operator] |
| 10-Oct-2019 19:28 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Time, Location, Source, Narrative] |
| 10-Oct-2019 19:29 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Source, Narrative] |
| 10-Oct-2019 19:33 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Source, Narrative] |
| 10-Oct-2019 19:35 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Source, Narrative] |
| 03-Nov-2019 10:41 | Anon. | Updated [Location, Operator] |
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