Date:	Saturday 8 June 1940
Time:	12:00 LT
Type:	Hawker Hurricane Mk 1
Owner/operator:	151 Sqn RAF
Registration:	P3315
MSN:	DZ-Y
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	near Forges-les-Eaux, Seine-Maritime, Normandy, Hauts de France -   France
Phase:	Combat
Nature:	Military
Departure airport:	RAF North Weald, Essex
Destination airport:	RAF North Weald, Essex

Narrative:
Hawker Hurricane Mk.I P3315 (DZ-Y) 151 Squadron, RAF: Written off (damaged beyond repair) when lost (Failed To Return) from a combat operation over Northern France. Pilot survived, bailed out, and eventually returned to his unit. According to the official Air Ministry file into the incident (File AIR 81/810): "Hurricane P3315 shot down near Amiens, France, 8 June 1940. Pilot Officer D H Blomeley: missing, later reported as safe".

P/O David Henry Blomeley took off at 11.00 hrs from RAF North Weald, Essex. Mission: Escorting Bristol Blenheim bombers to Amiens, to attack the Weygard line. He bailed out, after being hit by Flak/AAA fire south of Amiens and again near Porges where French gunners opened up at him. His Hurricane, now being on fire, meant that he had to ball out and during his descent the French again fired at him and his parachute caught fire. Luckily, he was near the ground before his parachute became ineffective and his only injury was a slight sprain to his ankle.

He was taken to Nantes, a French Air Force base, but the French evacuated and left him there to his own devices. The base was bombed on June 9 1940 at 06.30 hrs by the Luftwaffe. That day he spent trying to reach Rouen, and having successfully evaded a German mechanised column by cutting across fields, he was given a lift in a French car and reached Paris that evening. From Paris he took a train to Cherbourg, among survivors from the 51st Highland Division, but was bombed at Dreux. He was fortunate to get on board the L.M.S. Steamer the "Duke Of Argyll" at 03.00 hrs and arrived at Southampton at 10.30 hrs on 10 June 1940.

Crew of Hurricane P3315:
Flying Officer David Henry Blomeley (pilot, RAF 40665) - survived, bailed out, injured; returned to his unit 10/06/40 as per the above

David Henry Blomeley retired from the RAF on 20th February 1958 as a Flight Lieutenant, retaining the rank of Squadron Leader, having flown Vickers Valiants with 138 Squadron from February 1955. He lived in New Zealand for many years and was at some time working in the Forest Service. He retired to England in 1985 and died there on 17th June 1991, aged 75.

The reported crash location of Forges-les-Eaux is a commune in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region in northern France, some 34 miles (55 km) southeast of Dieppe, at approximate Coordinates: 49°36′48″N 1°32′44″E.

1. Royal Air Force Aircraft P1000-P9999 (James J Halley, Air Britain, 1978)
2. National Archives (PRO Kew) File AIR 81/810: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C14502533
3. Aces High: A Further Tribute to the Most Notable Fighter Pilots of WWII, Volume 2 By Christopher Shores
4. http://www.epibreren.com/ww2/raf/151_squadron.html#0806
5. http://francecrashes39-45.net/page_fiche_av.php?id=7573
6. http://www.bbm.org.uk/airmen/Blomeley.htm
7. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forges-les-Eaux

Other occurrences involving this aircraft

28 August 1940	P3320	151 Sqn RAF	0	Eastchurch, Kent, England		w/o
30 August 1940	R4216	151 Sqn RAF	1	Jacks Hatch near Epping Green, Epping, Essex, England		w/o

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
13-Sep-2019 21:51	Dr. John Smith	Added
13-Sep-2019 21:54	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Narrative]
17-Sep-2019 19:37	Nepa	Updated [Operator, Operator]