Date:	Friday 14 June 1940
Time:	19:45
Type:	Fairey Battle Mk I
Owner/operator:	103 Sqn RAF
Registration:	L5362?
MSN:	PM-Q
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 2
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	between Evreux and Pacy-sur-Eure -   France
Phase:	Combat
Nature:	Military
Departure airport:	Sougé, France
Destination airport:

Narrative:
Fairey Battle Mk.I L5362? (PM-Q) 103 Squadron, RAF; Written off (destroyed) when lost (Failed To Return) from combat operations over Northern France. Both crew survived, but were captured and taken as PoWs (one escaped and returned to the UK via Spain and Gibraltar). According to the official Air Ministry file into the incident (File AIR 81/989): "Battle aircraft crashed near Vernon, France, 14 June 1940. Flight Lieutenant F Hugill and Flying Officer R Hawkins: prisoners of war"

At 06:30 on 14 June 1940 the 103 Squadron air party consisting of 16 Battles and 2 Magister communications aircraft flew to Sougé. From this time the Squadrons air and ground parties became separated and were not to make contact again whilst in France. 103 Squadron was now placed under the command of 76 Wing. At Sougé four Battles were detailed for immediate operations with 8 more placed on an hour's stand by.

That evening, four Battles attacked enemy columns in the Evreux and Pacy-sur-Eure area. Took off from Sougé, France, at 18:45 hours. Having had problems getting the engine of the Fairey Battle to start, Pilot Officer Ronald Hawkins was "left behind" by the other three 103 Squadron aircraft, and had to undertake his mission alone. Intercepted by eleven Bf 109s, in the target area, and shot down.

Sergeant Brumby crash-landed near Morannes but he and his crew later rejoined the Squadron. Pilot Officer Ronald Hawkins was also shot down and taken prisoner with his gunner.

Pilot Officer Hawkins escaped and reached Vichy France and then made his way to Spain where he was interned but escaped again. He then made it back to Britain via Gibraltar. He was a most determined man and well known on the Squadron for carrying every conceivable aid for escape on his operational flights, which doubtless these served him well in his subsequent adventures. On his return to the Squadron in England he was to give a most interesting lecture to the aircrews on his experiences. Awarded the Military Cross for his "home run" (an escape from PoW status and return to the UK) on 17 March 1941.

Crew of Battle L5362(?):
Pilot Officer Ronald "Ron" Hawkins (Pilot) RAF 70802; survived, captured, taken as PoW, but escaped
Pilot Officer F. Hugill (Wireless Op./Air Gunner) RAF 43422: survived, captured taken as PoW. Interned in PoW Camp Stalag Luft III (Sagan, Poland) as PoW No. 1127

According to the following excerpt from the PoW debriefing from Pilot Officer Ronald Hawkins RAF 70802:

"After landing on the ground and hiding his parachute, Flying Officer Hawkins walked at night (under the cover of darkness) heading south, and navigating by the stars. After two days (16 June 1940) he was captured and taken as a Prisoner of War. He was short of food, having not eaten for two days.

Temporarily imprisoned in Vernon, and moved two days later (18 June 1940) to another prison south west of Evreux, where he escaped at night by swimming the river that bordered the camp. Walking by night for four or five days, he arrived at Trouville, and tried to locate a boat to escape France. He was unable to find a suitable boat.

Acquiring civilian clothing and a bicycle, he went on to Carteret, in an attempt to escape to Jersey in the Channel Islands, but this plan failed. He next set course for Marseilles (at the time in Vichy-controlled France) where he obtains false papers and travel documents. He then travels by train to Perpignan, Cerbere, and Spain, arriving in Gibraltar on September 29 1940.

From Gibraltar, Pilot Officer Hawkins 'hitched a lift' on a Short Sunderland flying boat, arriving back in the UK on 8 October 1940.

Note that the Fairey Battle involved cannot be 100% confirmed as being L5362. However, what is known of the service history of this particular airframe is that it was delivered to the RAF at 27 MU Shawbury on 24 September 1939, transferred to France to join the AASF (Allied Air Strike Force) on 7 June 1940, and issued to 103 Squadron. The only other entry on the airframe record card (Air Ministry Form 78) for Battle L5362 is that it was "presumed lost in France in June 1940". However, the Squadron ORB (Operational Record Book - Air Ministry Form 540) records "shot down 14 June 1940. P/O Hawkins and crew"

1. Royal Air Force Aircraft L1000-L9999 (James J Halley, Air Britain, 1978 p 35)
2. National Archives (PRO Kew) File AIR 81/989: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C14502440
3. The Battle File (Sidney Shail, Air Britain, 1997 p 152)
4. http://francecrashes39-45.net/page_fiche_av.php?id=5102
5. http://www.epibreren.com/ww2/raf/103_squadron.html#1406
6. Flying Officer Hawkins PoW Report: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C14082441
6. https://www.ipswichwarmemorial.co.uk/ronald-hawkins/
7. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/12530721/ronald-hawkins
8. https://www.northlincsweb.net/103Sqn/html/ronald_hawkins_103_squadron.html
9. https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/35107/supplement/1572/data.pdf
10. http://online.flipbuilder.com/efrh/irkc/mobile/index.html#p=4

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
03-Oct-2019 17:51	Dr. John Smith	Added
03-Oct-2019 18:33	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Time, Registration, Cn, Source, Narrative]
03-Oct-2019 18:34	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Source]
03-Oct-2019 18:52	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Registration, Narrative]
04-Oct-2019 06:26	stehlik49	Updated [Operator]