Date:	Tuesday 26 March 1940
Time:	22:15
Type:	Fairey Battle Mk I
Owner/operator:	103 Sqn RAF
Registration:	P2256
MSN:
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 3 / Occupants: 3
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	near St. Hilaire-el-Grand, Moronvilliers, Marne -   France
Phase:	En route
Nature:	Training
Departure airport:	Bétheniville, France
Destination airport:

Narrative:
On 26 March 1940 Fairey Battle Mk.I P2256 (PM-F) of 103 Squadron, RAF hit trees on take-off for night bombing exercise over the ranges at St-Hilaire-le-Petit. Aircraft crashed and burned out in woods near St. Hilaire-le-Grand, Moronvilliers, three miles south-west of Bétheniville, at 10.15 p.m. The three crew, Pilot Officer Ian Percival Hinton (pilot), Sergeant Duncan Cameron Findlay (observer) and AC.2 John Alexander Sharpe (wireless operator/air gunner), were killed and the aircraft was destroyed.

Crew of Battle P2256:
Sergeant (Observer) Duncan Cameron Findlay, RAF 565318, age 25, killed on active service 26/03/1940
Pilot Officer (Pilot) Ian Percival Hinton, RAF 40592, age 23, killed on active service 26/03/1940
Aircraftman 2nd Class (Wireless Op./Air Gunner) John A. Sharpe, RAF 617513 (Ireland), age 20, killed on active service 26/03/1940,

All three crew fatalities were buried at Terlincthun British Cemetery, Wimille, Pas de Calais, France

1. Royal Air Force Aircraft P1000-P9999 (James J. Halley, Air Britain, 1978 p 13)
2. The Battle File (Sidney Shail, Air Britain, 1997 p 166)
3. National Archives (PRO Kew) File AIR 81/1943: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C16471191
4. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2280893/findlay,-duncan-cameron/
5. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2280902/hinton,-ian-percival/
6. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2280950/sharpe,-john-alexander/
7. https://www.northlincsweb.net/103Sqn/html/103_squadron_-_training__accident_-_26-3-40_-_p-o_ian_p_hinton.html
8. http://forum.12oclockhigh.net/showthread.php?t=24900
9. http://www.oldhaltonians.co.uk/pages/rememb/ROH/23.htm
10. http://olivier.housseaux.free.fr/AVIONS/P2256/recit.htm
11. http://www.epibreren.com/ww2/raf/103_squadron.html
12. http://francecrashes39-45.net/page_fiche_av.php?id=1906
13. https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moronvilliers

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
27-Jun-2011 02:09	ThW	Added
17-Jun-2013 17:41	Nepa	Updated [Operator, Narrative]
10-Jan-2015 09:50	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Time, Cn, Other fatalities, Location, Departure airport, Source, Narrative]
17-Jul-2017 07:18	Laurent Rizzotti	Updated [Time, Aircraft type, Location, Nature, Source, Narrative]
08-Jul-2019 00:26	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Location, Source, Narrative]