Date:	Sunday 26 May 1940
Time:	10:15 LT
Type:	Fairey Battle Mk I
Owner/operator:	103 Sqn RAF
Registration:	L5514
MSN:	PM-T
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 3
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	Botassart, 2 km from Ucimont, Luxembourg -   Belgium
Phase:	Combat
Nature:	Military
Departure airport:	Rheges/St Lucien Ferme
Destination airport:

Narrative:
Fairey Battle Mk.I (PM-T) 103 Squadron, RAF: Written off (destroyed) 26 May 1940 when lost (failed to return) from combat operations. Two of the three crew were killed, one survived to be taken as a PoW. According to the official Air Ministry file into the incident (File AIR 81/659): "Battle L5514 crashed at Ucimont on the Belgium-Luxembourg border, 26 May 1940. Sergeant E G Hayward and Sergeant W F Hubbard: report of deaths. Flight Lieutenant J N Leyden: prisoner of war"

An ambitious attack was arranged at short notice with the target being the Chateau de Roumont at Ochamps, Belgium. This splendid country mansion was being used as a Luftwaffe HQ facility and it was thought that there was to be an important meeting of high ranking Luftwaffe Officers there that day. 103 Squadron, 142 Squadron and 150 Squadron participated in the raid with 10 Battles. A escort was provided by Hurricanes of 1 Squadron and 73 Squadron.

The 4 Battles of 142 Squadron were first on target in driving rain, dived down to 2,000 feet and released their bombs which burst all round the building with possibly one direct hit.

With the rain still heavy 103 Squadron arrived 2 minutes later and made their dive bombing attack with 3 Battles, Jimmy Leyden having been shot down en route. Flak was intense. It was impossible to observe the results due to bad visibility. However many German aircraft were clearly noted on the airfields in the vicinity. One of the Battles (L5515) was unable to release and bombed a nearby railway junction as an alternative claiming a direct hit.

150 Squadron with 2 Battles attacked soon after. P/O Vernon stated that visibility was still poor due to the heavy rain but the rear of the building had been clearly hit with bomb craters around the southern end of the building. Considerable flak was encountered in the target area. On leaving the target he was attacked by 4 Bf-110s and his gunner probably shot one down which was seen to be on fire. He also reported many aircraft on nearby German airfields.

Crew of Battle L5514:
Flight Lieutenant (pilot) James Napier Leyden RAF 39797; survived, captured, taken as a PoW. Interned in PoW Camps 9AH/L3, as PoW No.1125.
Sergeant (Observer) Eric George Hayward, RAF 564673, age 25, killed in action 26/05/1940
Sergeant (Wireless Op./Air Gunner) William Frank Hubbard, RAF 620073, age 25, killed in action 26/05/1940

L5514 was lost in combat. Shot down by a Bf 109 of 1/JG.53, piloted by Obfw. Muller at 10:15, Crashed at Le Tombeau le Geant (The Giant's Tomb) at Botassart. Jimmy Leyden was shot and wounded as he descended in his parachute. He was then severely beaten by German soldiers and left for dead in an orchard. Local people who wanted to help him were threatened and had to keep away. Later he was collected by the Germans, eventually recovered and was POW for the remainder of the war. The two crew fatalities were buried at Ucimont Churchyard, Luxembourg, Belgium

The reported crash location of Botassart is a hamlet in the Belgian town of Bouillon located in the Walloon Region in the province of Luxembourg. It was part of the old town of Ucimont, a village which is two kilometers away, and overhangs for a hundred meters the Semois and its "Tomb of the Giant", an impressive natural site, at approximate co ordinates 49°49' North, 5°03' East.

1. Royal Air Force Aircraft L1000-L9999 (James J .Halley, Air Britain, 1978 p 36)
2. National Archives (PRO Kew) File AIR 81/659: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C14502242
3. The Battle File (Sidney Shail, Air Britain, 1997 p152)
4. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2258985/hayward,-eric-george/
5. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2258986/hubbard,-william-frank/
6. https://www.northlincsweb.net/103Sqn/html/103_squadron_-_op_roumont_-_26-05-40_-_f-l_j_n_leyden.html
7. https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Botassart
8. http://www.lostbombers.co.uk/bomber.php?id=7325
9. https://www.hangarflying.eu/erfgoedsites/gedenkplaat-voor-bemanning-fairey-battle-l5514-pm-botassart/
10. http://www.belgians-remember-them.eu/crash-lux-bota.php
11. http://www.oldhaltonians.co.uk/pages/rememb/ROH/22.htm

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
22-Sep-2011 12:29	ThW	Added
10-Nov-2014 15:40	Unitex	Updated [Operator]
27-Aug-2019 21:29	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Time, Aircraft type, Cn, Operator, Other fatalities, Location, Departure airport, Source, Narrative]
28-Aug-2019 12:19	stehlik49	Updated [Operator]
14-Nov-2022 19:23	Ron Averes	Updated [Location]