Date:	Friday 26 June 1942
Time:	02:50
Type:	Armstrong Whitworth Whitley Mk V
Owner/operator:	10 OTU RAF
Registration:	P4944
MSN:	EL-A
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 5 / Occupants: 5
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	near Emen, Haren, Ems, Niedersachsen -   Germany
Phase:	Combat
Nature:	Military
Departure airport:	RAF Abingdon
Destination airport:

Narrative:
Takeoff at 22:52 hrs for the third 1000 bomber raid, this time the target being Bremen.
Homeward-bound, the aircraft was shot down by the night fighter crew of Leutnant Armin Hubmann & Unteroffizier Paul Gärtig of the 3./NJG 3, who had taken off from Vechta airfield in Bf 110 D5+DL.
Three of the crew are missing in action:

Pilot: Aus/402687 Sgt Eric Douglas Williams RAAF - Hamburg Cemetery Plot 4A Row H Grave 13.
Observer: 1382260 Sgt Gilbert Mansfield Murphy - Runnymede Memorial Panel 90.
Bomb Aimer: 1313246 Sgt Leonard Norman Reynolds - Runnymede Memorial Panel 92.
Wireless Operator/Air Gunner: R/78711 WOII Gordon Lea Wilkinson RCAF - Hamburg Cemetery Plot 4A Row H Grave 12.
Air Gunner: 904338 Flt Sgt Frederick Clifford House - Runnymede Memorial Panel 74.

UK National Archives has a German record of the recovery of four unknown crew members from an aircraft that MAY relate to this aircraft. Note however that the serial is given as ‘Whitley 94944’ and not Whitley P4944 and the date of loss is shown as ‘26/07/1941’. These could be transcription errors. See source 5.

Bomber Command Losses 1942
1. Nachtjagd Combat Archive The Early Years part three
2. http://www.aircrewremembered.com/AlliedLossesIncidents/?q=P4944
3. Google Maps
4. RAAF FATALITIES IN SECOND WORLD WAR AMONG RAAF PERSONNEL SERVING ON ATTACHMENT IN ROYAL AIR FORCE SQUADRONS AND SUPPORT UNITS
5. WO 416/416/100

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
23-Jan-2018 15:18	Red Dragon	Added
20-Feb-2018 18:12	Nepa	Updated [Aircraft type, Operator, Phase, Destination airport, Narrative]
27-May-2019 08:09	Anon.	Updated [Narrative]
09-Jan-2020 20:30	rvargast17	Updated [Time, Narrative]
04-May-2020 09:14	TigerTimon	Updated [Other fatalities, Location, Source, Narrative]
27-Jun-2022 08:51	Ron Averes	Updated [Location]
25-Sep-2023 08:38	Richard	Updated [[Location]]