Date:	Saturday 6 July 1940
Time:	10:00 LT
Type:	Bristol Blenheim Mk IV
Owner/operator:	254 Sqn RAF
Registration:	L8842
MSN:	QY-R
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 3
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	North Sea, 30 miles West of Bergen -   Norway
Phase:	Manoeuvring (airshow, firefighting, ag.ops.)
Nature:	Military
Departure airport:	RAF Sumburgh, Shetland Islands
Destination airport:	RAF Sumburgh, Shetland Islands

Narrative:
Bristol Blenheim Mk.IV L8842 (QY-R) 254 Squadron, RAF: Written off (destroyed) when lost (Failed To Return) from combat operations. All three crew survived, but one crew member died shortly after of injuries sustained. According to the official Air Ministry file into the incident (File AIR 81/1031: "Blenheim L8842 lost in air operations, 6 July 1940. Acting Sergeant R A McVeigh: report of death"

L8842 was one of two Blenheims of 254 Squadron, RAF (the other was N3604) which took off from RAF Sumburgh, Shetland Islands as "back up" for a raid by Blackburn Skuas of the Fleet Air Arm on Bergen, Norway. The Blenheims and Skuas were also "air cover" for the Royal Navy vessels HMS Southampton and HMS Coventry, which were also escorted by four destroyers.

Fifty miles west of Bergen, Norway, the Blenheims and Skuas rendezvoused with the British Naval force at 10:00 hours local time. Four miles further north, the aircraft were "jumped" by four Bf 110s which carried out line astern attacks out of the sun. The Blenheims were caught by surprise, and L8842 was hit in the port fuel tank and the starboard oil tank, by Uffz Zickler of 3/ZG 76, forcing the pilot to ditch into the sea.

Blenheim L8842 ditched near the destroyer HMS Cossack, which lowered a boat to retrieve all three crew. The observer of Blenheim L8842, Sgt R A McVeigh, was severely wounded, and died of his wounds on board HMS Cossack later the same day.

Crew of Blenheim L8842:
Sgt Albert W Tubbs (Pilot) - survived, rescued uninjured
Sgt Robert Alexander McVeigh (Observer) RAF 745470, aged 21 - died of wounds 06/07/1940
Sgt Arthur C Johnstone (Wireless Op./Air Gunner) - survived, rescued uninjured

As Sgt Robert McVeigh is commemorated on the Runnymede Memorial, it is believed that the Royal Navy gave him a burial at sea with full military honours late on 6 July 1940; he was not repatriated to the UK for burial

1. Royal Air Force Arcraft L1000-L9999 (Jmes J Halley, Air Britain, 1978
2. National Archives (PRO Kew) File AIR 81/1031: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C14502897
3. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/1079777/mcveigh,-robert-alexander/
4. Ross McNeill, Coastal Command Losses of the Second World War, Volume 1 (1939-1941), Midland publishing, 2003. ISBN: 1 85780 128 8
5. The Other Few: The Contribution Made by Bomber and Coastal Aircrew to the Winning of The Battle of Britain (p 22)
By Larry Donnelly
6. First of the Few: 5 June - July 1940 By Brian Cull
7. Coastal Dawn: Blenheims in Action from the Phoney War through the Battle of Britain By Andrew Bird
8. https://remembranceni.org/2019/07/06/july-6-roll-of-honour/

Other occurrences involving this aircraft

12 June 1940	N3627	254 Sqn RAF	3	west of Romsdalsfjord, Romsdal district of Møre og Romsdal county.		w/o
25 June 1940	N3604	254 Sqn RAF	3	Østhusvik, Rennesøy, Rogaland, off Stavanger		w/o
27 June 1940	P6957	235 Sqn RAF	3	North Sea NNW of Egmond aan Zee, Noord-Holland		w/o

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
08-Oct-2019 17:35	Dr. John Smith	Added
10-Oct-2019 16:36	juza7	Updated [Operator]