This information is added by users of ASN. Neither ASN nor the Flight Safety Foundation are responsible for the completeness or correctness of this information.
If you feel this information is incomplete or incorrect, you can
submit corrected information.
Date: | Saturday 14 December 1940 |
Time: | c. 09:30 LT |
Type: | Westland Lysander Mk II |
Owner/operator: | 6 Sqn RAF |
Registration: | L6877 |
MSN: | |
Fatalities: | Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 2 |
Aircraft damage: | Aircraft missing |
Location: | Fort Maddalena, near Tobruk -
Libya
|
Phase: | En route |
Nature: | Military |
Departure airport: | Mersa Mantruh, Libya |
Destination airport: | |
Narrative:Westland Lysander Mk.II L6877/'JV-W', 6 Squadron RAF: Flt/Lt Dawes and Sgt Chantry took off near Mersa Mantruh in Lysander L6877 at 08:50 on 14th Dec 1940 to carry out a reconnaissance of Fort Maddalena near Tobruk, Libya, but failed to return.
The aircraft was seen to be shot down just over the Libyan border and that the two members of the crew were buried by soldiers where they had fallen. The graves though have not been found. Both crew also posted as "missing presumed killed". According to the file at the National Archives at Kew (File AIR 891/4560 - see link #2):
"Flight Lieutenant D T St H Dawes, Sergeant R Chantry: missing believed killed; failed to return from reconnaissance flight, Lysander L6877, 6 Squadron, 14 December 1940"
Crew of Lysander L6877:
Flight Lieutenant Denziel Thomas St. Hugh DAWES (37936) RAFVR - posted as "missing presumed killed" 14 December 1940
Sergeant Richard CHANTRY (939103) RAFVR aged 26 - posted as "missing presumed killed" 14 December 1940
The crew were buried near the aircraft, and are commemorated on the El Alamein Memorial.
Sources:
1. Royal Air Force Aircraft L1000-L9999 (James J Halley, Air Britain, 1977)
2. National Archives (PRO Kew) File AIR 81/4560:
https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C16688658. 3. 6 Squadron ORB for December 1940: National Archives (PRO Kew) File AIR27/73/22:
https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/D8407115 4. CWGC:
https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/1536418/denziel-thomas-st-hugh-dawes/ 5. CWGC:
https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/1536185/richard-chantry/ 6.
http://www.stanwardine.com/malvernww1/ww2/Dawes_record_missing.pdf 7.
http://www.rafcommands.com/database/serials/details.php?uniq=L6877 8.
https://ww2talk.com/index.php?threads/remembering-today-14-december-1940-the-crew-of-lysander-l6877.44215/ 9.
https://www.rememberthefallen.co.uk/casualty/dawes-denziel-thomas-st-hugh/ 10.
http://www.stanwardine.com/cgi-bin/malvernww2.pl?id=61 11.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frontier_Wire_(Libya)#Fort_Maddalena
12.
https://www.getamap.net/maps/libya/tubruq/_ridottamaddalena/ Revision history:
Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
25-May-2008 20:30 |
JINX |
Added |
09-Nov-2018 17:15 |
Nepa |
Updated [Operator, Location, Operator] |
18-Apr-2022 19:29 |
Ron Averes |
Updated [Damage] |