ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 240639
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| Date: | Friday 19 July 1940 |
| Time: | 12:45 |
| Type: | Boulton Paul Defiant Mk I |
| Owner/operator: | 141 Sqn RAF |
| Registration: | L6983 |
| MSN: | |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 2 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | English Channel, 20 miles south of Folkestone, Kent, England -
 United Kingdom
|
| Phase: | Combat |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | RAF Hawkinge, Kent |
| RAF Hawkinge |
Defiant L6983, 141 Squadron lost due to aerial combat, 19 July 1940. Shortly after 09.00 hrs on the 19th July 1940, twelve 141 Squadron Defiants moved from RAF West Malling, near Maidstone to the forward airfield at Hawkinge. At 12.23 hrs they were ordered off to carry out an offensive patrol twenty miles south of Folkestone. Three were left behind with engine trouble. At 12:45 hours, nine Defiants of No. 141 Squadron were 'bounced' by Bf 109s of III/JG 51 south of Folkestone.
Defiant L6983, was hit in the engine.White glycol mingled with black smoke in a long plume as it spun down towards the Channel. The pilot of Defiant L6893, P/O Ian Neil MacDougall ordered his gunner, Sgt. John F Wise, to jump and was about to follow when the engine picked up. He circled twice over the water, watching Wise swim strongly towards the coast of France. He was never seen alive again and his body was not recovered. He was 19 years old and is commemorated on the Runnymede Memorial, Panel 21.
Altogether, in the space of fifteen minutes, six machines had been destroyed and ten men killed. The losses would have been even greater if Hurricanes from 111 Squadron had not arrived to scare the Messerschmitts off. 111 Squadron reported that four Me109s were shot down, ultimately all four confirmed. Two days later what was left of the Defiant Squadron was sent back to Prestwick, Scotland. One Bf 109 was severely damaged and crashed on landing.
Crew:
P/O (33491) Ian Neil MacDOUGALL (pilot) RAF : Baled out /Ok
Sgt (746875) John Francis WISE (AG) RAFVR : missing believed killed
As for the pilot of Defiant L6893, not only did he survive this action, but remained with the RAF until December 1969, receiving a DFC (Distinguished Flying Cross) on 15/5/42 and CBE (Commander of the British Empire) on 13/6/64. He rose through the ranks to become an Air Commodore (In 1964) and the Air Attache in Paris in 1967. (see link #8). He died on 25 August 1987, aged 68
Sources:
1. ORB 141 Sqdn RAF
2. National Archives (PRO Kew) File AIR81/2986: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C16472301
3. https://battleofbritain1940.com/entry/friday-19-july-1940/
4. https://www.bbm.org.uk/airmen/Wise.htm
5. https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/1531928/john-francis-wise/
6. http://www.rafcommands.com/database/serials/details.php?uniq=L6983
7. https://www.key.aero/forum/historic-aviation/29431-july-19th-1940-we-remember
8. https://www.rafweb.org/Biographies/MacDougall.htm
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 29-Aug-2020 16:23 | Nepa | Added [Operator] |
| 29-Jun-2022 16:33 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Time, Location, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative, Category] |
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