ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 136962
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| Date: | Thursday 16 May 1940 |
| Time: | 16:00 LT |
| Type: |  Hawker Hurricane Mk I |
| Owner/operator: | 615 (County of Surrey) Sqn RAF |
| Registration: | N2335 |
| MSN: | KW-J |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | near Tombeek, Overijse, Flemish Brabant -
 Belgium
|
| Phase: | Combat |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | Moorsele, Belgium EBMO |
Hawker Hurricane Mk.I N2330 (KW-J) 615 (County of Surrey) Squadron, RAF: Written off (destroyed) when lost (failed to return) from combat air patrol 16 May 1940. Pilot killed. According to the official Air Ministry file into the incident (File AIR 81/743): "Flight Lieutenant L T W Thornley: report of death; aircraft Hurricane N2335 lost in France, 16 May 1940".
Shot down by Bf-109s piloted by Hptm. Herwig Knüppel of 2 Stab II./JG 26 or Ltn. Otto-Heinrich Hilleke of 2 Stab II./JG 26. The Hurricane came down near Tirlemont (Tinen), Leuven, Flemish Brabandt, Belgium.
Crew:
Flight Lieutenant Leslie Thomas Wing Thornley, RAF (AAF) 90398, age 26, posted 16/05/1940, as missing presumed killed in action.
As no trace of Hurricane N2335 or its pilot was ever found, he is commemorated on the Runnymede Memorial
The reported crash location of Tienen or Thienen (French: Tirlemont) is a city and municipality in the province of Flemish Brabant, in Flanders, Belgium, at approximate Coordinates: 50°48′N 04°56′E.
Sources:
1. Royal Air Force Aircraft N1000-N9999 (James J Halley, Air Britain, 1977)
2. National Archives (PRO Kew) AIR 81/743: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C14502625
3. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/1808803/thornley,-leslie-thomas-wing/
4. http://www.epibreren.com/ww2/raf/615_squadron.html#1605
5. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tienen
6. http://aircrewremembered.com/cecil-reginald-young-chapter-3.html
7. https://www.veterans.gc.ca/eng/remembrance/memorials/canadian-virtual-war-memorial/detail/1808803
8. http://ww2talk.com/index.php?threads/raf-losses-may-1940-an-update.16940/page-8
9. http://ww2talk.com/index.php?threads/hello-east-africa-campaign-and-no-615-squadron.74442/
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 29-Jun-2011 02:19 | ThW | Added |
| 29-Jun-2011 02:25 | ThW | Updated [Aircraft type, Registration, Operator, Narrative] |
| 06-Jan-2012 07:10 | Nepa | Updated [Time, Aircraft type, Operator, Narrative] |
| 10-Jan-2012 15:54 | Nepa | Updated [Operator] |
| 11-Feb-2012 08:53 | rvargast17 | Updated [Time, Other fatalities, Location, Narrative] |
| 09-Aug-2013 01:07 | JINX | Updated [Operator, Location, Narrative] |
| 18-Nov-2013 19:11 | Nepa | Updated [Time, Operator, Location, Departure airport, Source, Narrative] |
| 08-Sep-2019 01:33 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Time, Cn, Location, Departure airport, Source, Narrative] |
| 17-May-2021 14:04 | Lovamo | Updated [Location, Departure airport] |
| 14-Nov-2022 08:57 | Ron Averes | Updated [Location] |
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