Date:	Sunday 22 December 1940
Time:	23:45
Type:	Bristol Blenheim Mk IF
Owner/operator:	23 Sqn RAF
Registration:	L6686
MSN:
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 3
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	Brading Down, Isle of Wight. -   United Kingdom
Phase:	En route
Nature:	Military
Departure airport:	RAF Ford, West Sussex
Destination airport:

Narrative:
Blenheim L6686: Took off at 20:05 hrs for Operational patrol. 22/12/1940
Crashed on return from operational flight over France at 23:45 hrs.
While flying back from a patrol ran out of fuel over the Channel. It began to head towards the Isle of Wight when F/Sgt. Loveridge gave the order to bail out. The two airmen, F/Sgts. Newman and Southall both jumped into the sea off Ventnor but unfortunately drowned in the rough swell.
F/Sgt Loveridge on the other hand had better luck, bailing moments later and landing on the Isle of Wight at Ventnor. The aircraft flew on and eventually crashed into Brading Down.
Crew:
F/Sgt (754958) Leonard Stanley LOVERIDGE (pilot) RAF - bale out /Ok
F/Sgt (515013) Alexander NEWMAN (Obs.) RAF - bale out /killed
F/Sgt (938291) George SOUTHALL (WOp/AG) RAFVR - bale out /killed

1. Battle in The Skies over the Isle of Wight by H J T Leal, Isle of Wight County Press. 1988
2. Wight Air Wrecks by A T Gilliam (ISBN 0-7524-2376-2)
3. Royal Air Force Aircraft L1000-L9999 (James J Halley, Air Britain, 1978 p 45)
4. http://wight.hampshireairfields.co.uk/iowc.html
5. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2735255/newman,-alexander/
6. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2713173/southall,-george/

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
26-Jan-2010 04:36	John Baker	Added
27-May-2019 21:59	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Time, Aircraft type, Operator, Phase, Departure airport, Source, Damage, Narrative]
27-May-2019 22:01	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Source, Narrative]
30-May-2019 12:42	stehlik49	Updated [Operator]