Date:	Saturday 31 August 1940
Time:	night
Type:	Blackburn Botha Mk I
Owner/operator:	608 (North Riding) Sqn RAF
Registration:	L6165
MSN:	UL-P
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 3 / Occupants: 3
Aircraft damage:	Aircraft missing
Location:	North Sea, off Redcar, North Yorkshire, England -   United Kingdom
Phase:	Approach
Nature:	Military
Departure airport:	RAF Thornaby, North Yorkshire
Destination airport:	RAF Thornaby, North Yorkshire

Narrative:
Botha L6165: Took off on a training flight from RAF Thornaby, North Yorkshire, on 31/08/1940, but was unable to land back at base in the early hours of the following morning, due to the presence of intruders. The aircraft was presumed to have ditched in the North Sea, off Redcar, North Yorkshire, but no trace of the aircraft nor the four crew was found.
Crew of Botha L6165:
P/O (42697) Terence Hugh Creed (pilot) RAF - MIA presumed KIA
AC.1 (808373)Thomas Edward Corrigan (WOp/AG) RAFVR - MIA presumed KIA
AC.2 (808387) George Beadnall, (Obs.) RAFVR - MIA presumed KIA

Note that the date of death was officially recorded by the CWGC as 1 September 1940 - that is, the next day. Presumably the date was after all attempts to locate the aircraft and crew were abandoned.

1. Royal Air Force Aircraft L1000-L9999 (James J. Halley, Air Britain, 1979)
2. The Kipper Patrol p 68 By Louise Wilkinson
3. https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ww2peopleswar/stories/70/a4233070.shtml
4. https://www.baaa-acro.com/crash/crash-blackburn-b-26-botha-north-sea-4-killed
5. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/1085223/creed,-terence-hugh/
6. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/1085019/corrigan,-thomas-edward/
7. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/1083606/beadnall,-george/
8. National Archives (PRO Kew) File AIR 81/2952: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C16472450
.

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
02-Feb-2013 00:12	PKM	Added
22-May-2019 17:57	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Time, Cn, Other fatalities, Location, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative]
22-May-2019 18:01	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Total fatalities, Total occupants, Source, Narrative]
19-Sep-2020 19:56	T.T.Taylor	Updated [Aircraft type, Location, Narrative, Operator]