Date:	Tuesday 8 June 1943
Time:	13:15
Type:	Boulton Paul Defiant Mk II
Owner/operator:	515 Sqn RAF
Registration:	AA435
MSN:	773
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 2
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	Beachy Head, near Eastbourne, East Sussex, England -   United Kingdom
Phase:	En route
Nature:	Military
Departure airport:	RAF Heston, Middlesex
Destination airport:	RAF West Malling, Kent

Narrative:
Boulton Paul Defiant Mk II AA435/DZ-V, 515 Squadron RAF: Written off (destroyed) 8 June 1943 when flew into cliffs at Beachy Head, Sussex, returning to base in thick fog. Both crew killed:
Crew:
P/O Albert Edward GRAY (145296) RAFVR killed on active service 8/6/43,
F/Sgt Frederick Joseph Alexander STEEL (1380940) RAFVR killed on active service 8/6/43.

515 Squadron was formed from Defiant Flight, also known as Special Duties Flight – an electronic countermeasuress unit equipped with the Boulton Paul Defiant Mk.II – at RAF Northolt on 1 October 1942. It moved to RAF Heston later that month. As part of 11 Group, 515 Squadron performed radar jamming duties, using 'Moonshine' and 'Mandrel' equipment.

'Moonshine' was the code-name for ARI TR1427, (Airborne Radio Installation Transmitter Receiver), a British airborne spoofer/jammer installed in the 20 modified Boulton Paul Defiants of No. 515 Squadron RAF to defeat Freya radar and was developed at the Telecommunications Research Establishment.'Mandrel' was the code-name for a jammer deployed against Freya and Würzburg radars used by aircraft of 515 Squadron and 100 Group. Developed at the TRE, Mandrel was also built in the United States as AN/APT-3.

The crash location of Beachy Head is a chalk headland in East Sussex, England. It is situated close to Eastbourne, immediately east of the Seven Sisters.

Beachy Head is located within the administrative area of Eastbourne Borough Council which owns the land, forming part of the Eastbourne Downland Estate. The cliff is the highest chalk sea cliff in Britain, rising to 162 metres (531 ft) above sea level.

1. Boulton Paul Defiant: An Illustrated History By Alec Brew
2. RAF West Malling: The RAF's First Night Fighter Airfield, WWII to the Cold War By Anthony J. Moor
3. Royal Air Force Serials AA100-AZ999 (James J Halley, Air Britain)
4. 515 Squadron ORB (Operational Record Books)(Air Ministry Form AM/F.540) for the period 1/5/42 and 30/6/45: National Archives (PRO Kew) File AIR27/1981 at https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C2504623
5. http://www.rafcommands.com/forum/showthread.php?13716-P-O-Albert-Edward-GRAY-(145296)-DFM&p=80911#post80911
6. http://www.rafcommands.com/forum/showthread.php?10516-C47-Dakota-Beachy-Head&p=61340#post61340
7. http://www.rafcommands.com/database/serials/details.php?uniq=AA435
8. https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/2811050/albert-edward-gray/
9. https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/2838146/frederick-joseph-alexander-steel/
10. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No._515_Squadron_RAF
11. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beachy_Head
12. https://www.asisbiz.com/il2/Defiant/RAF-151Sqn-DZ/pages/Boultan-Defiant-NFI-RAF-151Sqn-DZ-V-AA435-England-1940-02.html
13. http://www.ghostbombers.com/recon/Koch/moonshine.html

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
07-Feb-2008 22:07	JINX	Added
04-Feb-2012 08:51	Nepa	Updated [Time, Operator, Narrative]
28-Jun-2022 14:54	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Location, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative, Category]
18-Jul-2023 17:23	Nepa	Updated [[Location, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative, Category]]