Date:	Tuesday 31 December 1940
Time:	14:20
Type:	Bristol Blenheim Mk IV
Owner/operator:	114 (Hong Kong) Sqn RAF
Registration:	R3897
MSN:	RT-?
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 3 / Occupants: 3
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	De Moer, Noord-Brabant -   Netherlands
Phase:	Combat
Nature:	Military
Departure airport:	RAF Oulton
Destination airport:

Narrative:
On 31 December 1940, Bomber Command dispatched 22 Blenheim on single cloud cover raids to northern Germany, the Ruhr and Dutch airfields. Six crew bombed various targets and two did not return.

The Blenheim IV R3897 of 114 Sqn RAF took off from Outlon airfield just before noon to attack Gilze-Rijen airfield. At 1420 hrs, the aircraft was hit by Flak guns at Gilze and crashed at De Moer, between Loon op Zand and St. Joachimsmoer near Gilze. The bomb load exploded when the bomber hit the ground, killing the three crew.

Crew (all killed):
Sgt Leslie Alfred Young (pilot)
Sgt John Edward Brown (observer)
Sgt Jack Coates (wireless operator/air gunner)

They are buried in Bergen op Zoom War Cemetery.

https://www.bhic.nl/ontdekken/verhalen/neergestorte-vliegtuigen-in-loon-op-zand-1940-1945
https://wo2-hoekschewaard.nl/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/register19401.pdf
http://forum.12oclockhigh.net/showthread.php?p=78938
"The Bomber Command War Diaries", by Martin Middlebrook and Chris Everitt, ISBN 1-85780-033-8
"Royal Air Force Bomber Command Losses of the Second World War, vol 1: Aircraft and Crew lost during 1939-1940", by W R Chorley. ISBN 0-904597-85-7
"Battle of Britain-The Forgotten Months, November and December 1940", by John Foreman. ISBN 1-871187-02-8
http://www.rafinfo.org.uk/BCWW2Losses/1939-1940.htm
https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/De_Moer
http://wikimapia.org/#lang=en&lat=51.624167&lon=5.012500&z=13&m=w

Other occurrences involving this aircraft

15 October 1941

V5875

114 (Hong Kong) Sqn RAF

3

North Sea 130 km WNW of Den Helder, Noord-Holland

w/o

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
17-Dec-2008 11:45	ASN archive	Added
01-Jan-2019 20:20	Laurent Rizzotti	Updated [Time, Operator, Total fatalities, Total occupants, Location, Phase, Departure airport, Source, Narrative]
04-Nov-2019 10:55	Anon.	Updated [Operator, Operator]
13-Nov-2020 10:03	TigerTimon	Updated [Cn, Location]