ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 229730
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| Date: | Tuesday 18 June 1940 |
| Time: | morning |
| Type: |  Bristol Blenheim Mk IV |
| Owner/operator: | 4 (Continental) FPP RAF |
| Registration: | L9314 |
| MSN: | |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 3 / Occupants: 3 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | near Prunières, Hautes-Alpes, South Eastern France -
 France
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Ferry/positioning |
| Departure airport: | RAF Tangmere, Chichester, West Sussex |
| Middle East |
Bristol Blenheim Mk.IV L9314, 4 (Continental) Ferry Pilots Pool, RAF: Written off (destroyed) when crashed in France en route to the Middle East. All three crew killed. According to the official Air Ministry file into the incident (File AIR 81/1009): "Blenheim L9314 crashed at Prunieres, France, 18 June 1940. Leading Aircraftman W H Higgins: report of death".
Blenheim L9314 was one of a number of Hurricanes and twelve Blenheims that left RAF Tangmere, Chichester, West Sussex for the Middle East. One Hurricane and six Blenheims were lost on the first leg to Marignane (France). All twelve Blenheims took off from Tangmere between 06.30 and 06.45 hours on the morning of June 18 1940. Six were lost in severe storm conditions north-west of Limoges. The formation became split up over France in thick cloud 110 km south of the Loire River.
L9314 crashed near Prunières, Hautes-Alpes. Despite the Air Ministry file AIR 81/1009, all three crew killed (not one); two of the crew being killed instantly. The observer died in transit to hospital. Crew initially buried there; re interred in Mazargues, Merseilles.
Crew of Blenheim L9314:
Pilot Officer Douglas Stewart Johnston, RAF 41426 (New Zealander), age 24, killed on active service 18/06/1940
Sergeant Kenneth G. Walker, RAF 625837, age 18, killed on active service (died of injuries sustained)18/06/1940
Leading Aircraftman William H. Higgins, RAF 635167, age 29, killed on active service 18/06/1940,
As stated above, all three crew were buried at Mazargues War Cemetery, Bouches-du-Rhone, Marseilles, France. The reported crash location of Prunières is a commune in the Hautes Alpes department in southeastern France, at approximate Coordinates: 44°32′34″N 6°20′03″E
Sources:
1. Royal Air Force Aircraft L1000-L9999 (James J Halley, Air Britain, 1978)
2. National Archives (PRO Kew) File AIR 81/1009: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C14502848
3. http://www.epibreren.com/ww2/raf/4_FPP.html#1806
4. http://francecrashes39-45.net/page_fiche_av.php?id=2649
5. http://aircrewremembered.com/johnston-douglas.html
6. https://www.aerosteles.net/stelefr-prunieres-blenheim
7. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2685836/johnston,-douglas-stewart/
8. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2685938/walker,-kenneth-granville/
9. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2685824/higgins,-william-henry/
10. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pruni%C3%A8res,_Hautes-Alpes
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 04-Oct-2019 23:20 | Dr. John Smith | Added |
| 28-Oct-2019 09:43 | Anon. | Updated [Operator, Operator] |
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