ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 213015
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| Date: | Tuesday 15 October 1940 |
| Time: | 03:05 LT |
| Type: | Handley Page Hampden Mk I |
| Owner/operator: | 50 Sqn RAF |
| Registration: | X2993 |
| MSN: | VN-T |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 4 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | Kalbe an der Milde, Altmarkkreis Salzwedel, Sachsen-Anhalt -
 Germany
|
| Phase: | Combat |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | RAF Bircham Newton, Kings Lynn, Norfolk |
| RAF Lindholme, North Yorkshire |
Handley Page Hampden Mk.I X2993 (VN-T) of 50 Squadron, RAF: Lost on combat operations on the morning of 15/10/1940 when shot down during a raid on Berlin, Germany. According to the Squadron Dairy (ORB - Air Ministry Form 540):
"14/15 October 1940
BERLIN
Three aircraft were detailed for a ‘special’ mission; to bomb the Air Ministry buildings in Berlin. This target is at the limit of range for the Hampden and so the three were forward based at R.A.F. Bircham Newton, Norfolk for fuelling prior to setting off for Berlin at around 20.50 hours. Two aircraft, P2093 and P4408, reached Berlin in fair weather but hazy visibility.
Ground opposition was light and both aircraft spent some 20 minutes circling Berlin; the city was ringed with barrage balloons and a course through them had to be established. The target was duly bombed (11 x 250-lb G.P. bombs and incendiaries) and both aircraft returned safely to Base having been in the air for a creditable 9 hours 35 minutes and 8 hours 24 minutes respectively
Hampden X2993 ‘VN-T’ failed to return. Two of the crew were later confirmed as killed and are listed in the RoH:
745535 Pilot Sgt. Edgar James Andrews 745535 RAFVR
42203 Pilot Officer Arthur Howell Davies RAFVR.
Two crew survived and were captured, taken as PoWs; Sgt Hurrell and Sgt. Lee. X2993 was shot down by night fighter pilot Hauptmann Werner Streib of the Stab I./NJG 1 (flying a Bf 110 from Gardelegen airfield) at 03.05 hours near Kalbe an der Milde, Altmarkkreis Salzwedel (district), in Saxony-Anhalt, approximately 15 km north of Gardelegen, on the river Milde (at approximate co ordinates: 52°38′00″N 11°24′00″E, between Hannover and Berlin).
Pilot Officer Davies and his colleague Pilot Officer Andrews are buried side by side in the BERLIN 1939-1945 War Cemetery, graves 9.E.13 and 9.E.12 respectively.
Sources:
1. http://www.no-50-and-no-61-squadrons-association.co.uk/app/download/5802508903/50+SQUADRON+ORB+1939+1943+Revision+1.pdf
2. https://www.backtonormandy.org/component/mtree/air-force-operations/airplanes-allies-and-axis-lost/hampden/25653-X29931940-10-15.html?Itemid=4210
3. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2078556/andrews,-edgar-james/
4. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2079239/davies,-arthur-howell/
5. http://www.wartimememoriesproject.com/ww2/allied/battalion.php?pid=1787
6. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kalbe,_Saxony-Anhalt
7. Nachtjagd Combat Archive The Early Years part one
History of this aircraft
Other occurrences involving this aircraft
| 12 April 1940 | L4083 | 50 Sqn RAF | 1 | Mandal, Vest-Agder county, district of Sørlandet, near Kristiansand |  |
w/o |
| 27 June 1940 | P1329 | 50 Sqn RAF | 4 | North Sea, 25 km west of Noordwijk, Zuid-Holland |  |
w/o |
| 10 November 1940 | L4149 | 50 Sqn RAF | 3 | Mannheim Power Station, Mannheim, Baden-Württemberg | |
w/o |
| 29 July 1941 | AE159 | 50 Sqn RAF | 4 | Missing | |
w/o |
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 07-Jul-2018 23:49 | Dr. John Smith | Added |
| 07-Jul-2018 23:55 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Location, Source, Narrative] |
| 12-Nov-2018 19:05 | Nepa | Updated [Operator, Operator] |
| 24-Sep-2020 17:59 | TigerTimon | Updated [Other fatalities, Location, Source, Narrative] |
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