ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 89334
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| Date: | Saturday 11 May 1940 |
| Time: | morning |
| Type: |  Fairey Battle Mk I |
| Owner/operator: | 5/III/3 Aéronautique Militaire Belge |
| Registration: | T-61 |
| MSN: | F.3259 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 2 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | Vroenhoven, Limburg -
 Belgium
|
| Phase: | Combat |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | Belcele, East Flanders, Belgium |
Fairey Battle Mk.1 T-61, 5/III/3 - Aéronautique Militaire Belge. Based at Belcele, East Flanders, Belgium. Written off (destroyed) 11 May 1940 on a Mission to attack the Bridges over the Albert Canal at Vroenhoven. One of three aircraft tasked with this mission (T-61, T-64 and T-70), which took off at 06:50 hours.
Over Tongeren near the target they were fired upon by a German field convoy on the way north. T-70 replied with long Machine-gun bursts. A German projectile came through the fuselage and passed between the legs of a crewman without touching him. Over Vroenhoven all three aircraft were hit by flak.
T-70 and T-61 both encountered a problem with the release system and could not drop their bombs. T-64 dropped its bombs but all fell into the Canal. T-70 and T-61 now decided to dive-bomb the bridge. T-70 hit the bridge with three bombs but none did mentionable damage. The other five fell into the Canal. Because of this unhappy result, T-70 and T-61 headed west to make a fresh bomb run. T-70 was shot down between Lafelt and Vlijtingen, and T-61 at Veldwezelt over the Kip van Hees. Of the four crew members only 2nd Lieutenant Vandenbosch (in Battle T-70) escaped with his life.
Crew of Battle T-61:
Pilot: Adjudant-Aviateur Franz Jules Clovis Delvigne - Killed in action 11 May 1940
Observateur radiotélégraphiste (Wireless Op/Air Gunner) Sergeant Alexandre Henri Philippe Moens - killed in action 11 May 1940
The reported crash site of Veldwezelt is a church village in and a part of the municipality of Lanaken, located in the Belgian province of Limburg, at approximate Coordinate 50°52′N, 5°38′E
Sources:
1. http://www.epibreren.com/ww2/belgium/af/losses.html
2. https://www.freebelgians.be/articles/print.php?id=67
3. https://halifaxjd371kno.com/index.php/veldwezelt-fairey-battle-t61-5-iii-1-ae/
4. http://www.letletlet-warplanes.com/2018/07/30/the-fairey-battles-of-the-belgian-aeronautique-militaire/
5. http://users.skynet.be/lostplanes.net/the%20fairey%20Battle.htm
6. https://weaponsandwarfare.com/2016/06/05/the-allied-air-attacks-against-the-bridges-1112-may-1940/
7. https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Veldwezelt (Dutch text) .
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 22-Jan-2011 13:51 | ThW | Added |
| 03-Feb-2011 12:45 | ThW | Updated [Aircraft type, Departure airport, Source, Narrative] |
| 15-Mar-2017 07:44 | Anon. | Updated [Departure airport, Narrative] |
| 21-Jun-2019 20:40 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Source] |
| 31-Oct-2020 01:39 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Time, Location, Departure airport, Source, Narrative] |
| 01-Nov-2020 04:50 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Cn, Location, Source, Narrative] |
| 29-Jun-2022 04:22 | Ron Averes | Updated [Location] |
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