ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 229321
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| Date: | Tuesday 11 June 1940 |
| Time: | 05:40 |
| Type: |  Bristol Blenheim Mk I |
| Owner/operator: | 45 Sqn RAF |
| Registration: | L8519 |
| MSN: | OB-J |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 3 / Occupants: 3 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | Sidi Barrani, Matruh Governate. -
 Egypt
|
| Phase: | Combat |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | LG.017, Fuka Aerodrome, Sidi Haneish, Egypt |
| Sidi Barrani, Matruh Governate, Egypt |
Blenheim L8519/J: Written off (destroyed) when lost (Failed To Return) from combat operations over Libya. All three crew missing, presumed killed. According to the official Air Ministry file into the incident (File AIR 81/883): "Blenheim L8519 crash landed at Sidi Barrani, Libya, 11 June 1940. Sgt M C Thurlow, Sgt B A Feldman and AC1 H Robinson: report of deaths"
Hit by flak, caught fire, and crash landed at Sidi Barrani, Libya, returning from raid on El Adem. All three crew posted as "killed in action". One of two 45 Squadron Blenheims lost on this day in this combat engagement. (The other was L8476 - which see). According to a published Italian source (see link #8)
"These were followed by eight Bristol Blenheim Mk.Is of 45 Sqdn that took off from Fuka at 04:15 hrs and attacked the airfield of El Adem (code named T3). Initially the raid was to be against Tobruk’s harbour, but the reconnaissance of 211 Squadron's aircraft showed it deprived of any significant targets.
The British formation was composed of eight 45 Sqdn Blenheims, led by S/Ldr Dallamore (Blenheim L8478), F/O Williams (L8469), Sgt Thurlow (L8519), F/Lt Troughton Smith (L8481), P/O Gibbs (L4923), Sgt Bower (L8476), F/O Rixson (L8524) and F/O Finch (L8466).
The British pilots returned from El Adem (T3) claiming that they had attacked at 05:40 with 40lb, 20lb and 4lb incendiary bombs and also had strafed in subsequent passes with front and rear guns. Although no enemy aircraft were encountered, the ground defences had been in action immediately. These were described as “not heavy” and in fact it is known that at the beginning of the conflict for the defence of all the 35 air strips of Cirenaica, the Italians had only 17 ex-Austrian Schwarzlose 8mm gun of WW I vintage armed with standard ammunition and with a maximum range of 600 meters.
Later more details enriched the description of this first attack, reporting that the returning crews had claimed that the entire manpower of the Italian base had been assembled on parade, as if the commanding officer had been reading a signal from Marshal Italo Balbo (Italian Commander-in-Chief) announcing the declaration of war. The Blenheims had hit two hangars burning them, then had strafed and bombed the Italian aircraft that were parked in rows as in peacetime and not dispersed destroying several of them.
Three Blenheims failed to return and two more were damaged. Blenheim L8519 was damaged by flak/AAA during the raid and crash-landed at Sidi Barrani where it burst into flames killing its crew; Sgt Thurlow, Sgt Feldman and AC1.Robinson.
Crew of Blenheim L8519:
Sgt (747967) Bernard Alfred FELDMAN (obs.) RAFVR: killed
AC1 (548048) Henry ROBINSON (WOp/AG) RAF: killed
Sgt (565808) Maurice Cresswell THURLOW (pilot) RAF: killed
All three crew fatalities were buried at Alexandria (Chatby) Military and War Memorial Cemetery, Egypt. The reported crash location of Sidi Barrani is a town in Egypt, near the Mediterranean Sea, about 95 km (59 miles) east of the border with Libya, and around 240 km (150 miles) from Tobruk, Libya, at approximate Coordinates: 31°36′39″N 25°55′32″E
NOTE: Most reports state that THREE 45 Squadron Blenheims failed to return from this raid (not two). Whilst this is, in one sense, true, the third Blenheim Mk.I involved (L8466) suffered an engine failure over the target (possibly hit by Italian fire), the other engine failed after 100 miles during the return journey eastwards and the aircraft made a wheels-up forced landing near Buq-Buq. The crew (Flying Officer A. Finch, Sergeant R. Dodsworth and Leading Aircraftman Fisher) was rescued by the British Army while the aircraft was later recovered and repaired. So it did return...eventually, and on a "Queen Mary" trailer!
Sources:
1. Royal Air Force Aircraft L1000-L9999 (James J. Halley, Air Britain, 1978 p 58)
2. National Archives (PRO Kew) File AIR 81/883: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C14502529
3. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2112627/feldman,-bernard-alfred/
4. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2112827/robinson,-henry/
5. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2112891/thurlow,-maurice-cresswell/
6. http://www.epibreren.com/ww2/raf/45_squadron.html#1106
7. http://www.oldhaltonians.co.uk/pages/rememb/ROH/T.htm
8. http://surfcity.kund.dalnet.se/italy_ruzzene.htm
9. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sidi_Barrani
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 25-Sep-2019 18:34 | Dr. John Smith | Added |
| 25-Sep-2019 18:34 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Country] |
| 26-Sep-2019 11:31 | stehlik49 | Updated [Operator] |
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