Date:	Monday 10 January 1944
Time:	15:10
Type:	Hawker Typhoon Mk IB
Owner/operator:	245 (Northern Rhodesia) Sqn RAF
Registration:	JP852
MSN:
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	southeast of Londinières, Seine-Maritime -   France
Phase:	En route
Nature:	Military
Departure airport:
Destination airport:

Narrative:
On 10 January 1944 the RAF units in England flew few operations over Europe. Ramrod 444 took Mosquitos to No-Ball targets at 15:30 hrs without loss. Typhoon pilots of 609 Sqn pn a Ranger to Brussels claimed a Ju 88 shot down near Melsbroek airfield, but two other Typhoons, of 195 and 245 Sqn, were lost to Flak on Rhubards and both pilots were killed.

The 245 Sqn loss was the Typhoon Ib JP852. According to British sources, it was shot down by Flak around 1510 hrs and crashed 7 miles northeast of Rouen. Actually it crashed a little more north, southeast of Londinières. The pilot, Plt Off Joseph Peter Bassett, was killed.

The Germans later reported in a Totenliste that an airman called "Lhude Sing Cuccu" was shot down and killed this day in a Typhoon. In October 1944, the RAF Missing Research Section managed to confirm that Basset had had a verse from the Elizabethan song Llude Sing Cuccu, recenly parodied in the flight safety publication Tee Emm, emblazoned across his Mae West. This allowed Bassett's body to be identified.

http://39-45.auzeau.fr/?page=beauvais
"Missing Believed Killed: The Royal Air Force and the Search for Missing Aircrew 1939-1952", by Stuart Hadaway. ISBN 978-1-84415-734-1
"Fighter Command War Diaries Volume Four: July 1943 to June 1944", by John Foreman. ISBN 1-871187-43-5
"2nd Tactical Air Force. Volume One: Spartan to Normandy. June 1943 to June 1944", by Christopher Shores and Chris Thomas. ISBN 1-903223-40-7
https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Londini%C3%A8res
http://www.maplandia.com/france/haute-normandie/seine-maritime/dieppe/londinieres/

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
10-Jan-2017 11:29	Laurent Rizzotti	Added
27-Nov-2019 10:55	Nepa	Updated [Operator, Phase, Narrative, Operator]