ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 16932
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| Date: | Friday 7 August 1942 |
| Time: | 17:08 LT |
| Type: | Bristol Bombay Mk I |
| Owner/operator: | 216 Sqn RAF |
| Registration: | L5814 |
| MSN: | SH.7 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 10 / Occupants: 17 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | 30 km SSW of Alexandria, near LG.90 -
 Egypt
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | Burg El Arab, Egypt |
| RAF Heliopolis, Alamza, Cairo, Egypt |
Bristol Bombay Mk.1 L5814, 216 Squadron, RAF. Written off (destroyed) 7.8.42: Crashed in the Egyptian Desert, 30 km SSW of Alexandria, near LG.90. The aircraft had 17 persons on board (7 crew and 10 passengers). They were detailed to pick up 14 wounded soldiers from Burg-el-Arab. At 4:45 P.M. the aircraft took off and flying only 50 feet off the ground so as not to attract the attention of Luftwaffe aircraft headed back to Heliopolis. One passenger was a VIP, Lieutenant-General William Henry Ewart "Strafer" Gott, CB, CBE, DSO & Bar, MC, who has been appointed as successor to General Claude Auchinleck as commander of the Eighth Army just the day before.
Before he could take up his post, Gott was killed when the transport plane he was travelling in was shot down and destroyed while returning to Cairo from the battle area. The aircraft, a Bristol Bombay of No. 216 Squadron RAF flown by 19-year-old Flight Sergeant Hugh "Jimmy" James, was intercepted and shot down by Unteroffizier Bernd Schneider and Emil Clade of Jagdgeschwader 27 (Fighter Wing 27). With both engines out, the pilot had made a successful crash landing, but two German Messerschmitt Bf 109 fighters attacked the crashed plane, strafing it until the Bombay was totally wrecked. Those who were unable to escape from the downed Bombay (including Gott) were killed. Gott's body was buried at the El Alamein War Cemetery.
This was Schneider's second credited victory.
Gott was, in turn, succeeded by Lieutenant General Sir Bernard Law Montgomert.
Crew
Pilot: Sgt H.G. James RAF injured.
Pilot: Sgt P. Lawson RAF injured.
W/op: Sgt 971119 H. Daniels RAFVR injured.
Sgt Bowles RAF injured.
Medical Orderly OK.
Fitter: LAC 900222 J.C. Manning RAFVR OK.
Rigger:LAC 1255696 P.N. Howarth RAFVR OK.
Passengers:
Lt General 1798 W.H.E. Gott Army killed.
Gunner 879399 J. Cleary 155 Battery 52 Lt AA Regiment RA killed.
Gunner 1826601 T. McDonald 3 Battery 1 Lt AA Regiment RA killed.
Sapper 2117828 F. Price 588 Army Field Company Royal Engineers killed.
Signalman 2320419 J.T. Cox Royal Corp of Signals XXX Corp Signals killed.
Trooper 4133211 J.J. Lamb 50th (4th Bn The Royal Northumberland Fusiliers) killed.
Private 4532717 W. Wilson 2nd Battalion, The West Yorkshire Regiment killed.
Private 4537993 R.T. Charlesworth 2nd Battalion The West Yorkshire Regiment killed.
Private 5730249 A.R. Saggers RAOC killed.
Lt/Cpl 6007839 G.D. Dodd 1/4th Battalion The Essex Regiment killed.
Just prior to the crash the (un-named) Medical Orderly had accidentally fallen through the forward hatch and had been saved by landing in soft sand. All the fatalities were interred at El Alamein War Cemetery in Egypt
Sources:
1. Air Britain RAF Aircraft L1000-N9999
2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Gott#Death
3. http://www.rafcommands.com/archive/02305.php
4. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2094192/gott,-william-henry-ewart/
5. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2093010/cleary,-john/
6. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2117328/mcdonald,-thomas/
7. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2211257/price,-frank/
8. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2093202/cox,-joseph-taverner/
9. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2213092/wilson,-william/
10. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2092931/charlesworth,-robert-thomas/
11. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2211737/saggers,-arthur-robert/
12. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2093483/dodd,-george-david/
13. http://www.etherit.co.uk/1942/08/07.htm
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 30-Mar-2008 04:41 | JINX | Added |
| 04-Oct-2018 15:04 | Nepa | Updated [Operator, Narrative, Operator] |
| 20-Apr-2019 23:34 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Time, Cn, Total occupants, Location, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative] |
| 20-Apr-2019 23:36 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Narrative] |
| 20-Feb-2022 09:09 | redsix1 | Updated [Narrative] |
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