ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 229430
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| Date: | Friday 14 June 1940 |
| Time: | day |
| Type: |  Bristol Blenheim Mk IV |
| Owner/operator: | 40 Sqn RAF |
| Registration: | R3693 |
| MSN: | BL-F |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 3 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | Garancières-en-Drouais (Eure-et-Loir), 8 km SW of Dreux -
 France
|
| Phase: | Combat |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | RAF Wyton, Huntingdonshire |
| RAF Wyton, Huntingdonshire |
Bristol Blenheim Mk.IV R3693 (BL-F) 40 Squadron, RAF: Written off (destroyed) when lost (Failed To Return) from combat operations over Northern France. Of the three crew, one was killed, and two survived uninjured and were able to return to their unit. According to the official Air Ministry file into he incident (File AIR 81/901): "Blenheim R3693 crashed at Saulnieres, France, 14 June 1940. Sergeant R Currie: uninjured. Pilot Officer W M Lewis: safe. Sergeant S W Johnson: report of death"
Airborne at 13:45 hours from RAF Wyton, Huntingdonshire. Tasked with attacking enemy troop columns on the roads around Breteuil-Damville-Louviers and Elbeuf. Shot down by a Bf 109 piloted by the famous Luftwaffe "ace" Adolf Galland (1912-1996). He claimed it as his 14th victory in air to air combat (although Galland mis-identified Blenheim R3693 as a Fairey Battle) and stated that he shot this aircraft down 10 km south west Evreux. Crashed at Garancières-en-Drouais (Eure-et-Loir), 8 km SW of Dreux, France. Two crew bailed out by parachute, and landed safely. It is presumed that P/O W M Lewis and Sgt R Currie were eventually able to return to their Squadron
Crew of Blenheim R3693:
Pilot Officer W M Lewis (pilot) - survived uninjured, presumed evaded capture and returned to his unit
Sgt R Currie (Observer) - survived uninjured, presumed evaded capture and returned to his unit
Sergeant (Wireless Op./Air Gunner) Sydney W. Johnson, RAFVR 937626, age 19, killed in action 14/06/1940, buried at Garancieres-en-Drouais Communal Cemetery, Eure-et-Loir, France
Unofficial sources give the exact crash location "near Martin Wood, 1 km south of Garancières-en-Drouais (Eure-et-Loir), 8 km SW of Dreux, a commune in the Eure-et-Loir department in northern France, at approximate Coordinates: 48°42′08″N 1°17′10″E.
Sources:
1. Royal Air Force Aircraft R1000-R9999 (James J Halley, Air Britain, 1980 p 23)
2. National Archives (PRO Kew) File AIR 81/901: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C14502603
3. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2321139/johnson,-sydney-wallace/
4. http://francecrashes39-45.net/page_fiche_av.php?id=557
5. http://www.epibreren.com/ww2/raf/40_squadron.html#1406
6. https://forcedlanding.pagesperso-orange.fr/Commonwealth13.htm
7. https://de-de.facebook.com/groups/LuftwaffeWW2/permalink/10155481144826572/
8. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garanci%C3%A8res-en-Drouais
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 27-Sep-2019 18:48 | Dr. John Smith | Added |
| 28-Sep-2019 10:19 | stehlik49 | Updated [Operator] |
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