ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 213897
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| Date: | Friday 15 August 1941 |
| Time: | day |
| Type: | Handley Page Hampden Mk I |
| Owner/operator: | 50 Sqn RAF |
| Registration: | P4408 |
| MSN: | VN-B |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 4 / Occupants: 4 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | North Sea off East Frisian Islands, Lower Saxony -
 Germany
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | RAF Swinderby, Lincolnshire |
| RAF Swinderby, Lincolnshire |
Handley Page Hampden Mk.I P4408 of 50 Squadron, RAF Swinderby lost on Active Service on 15/8/1941. The crew of four were posted as missing:-
Pilot : Flying Officer James Alexander Whitecross DFC RAF 41888 [Killed] (Commission Gazetted : Tuesday 28 November, 1939)
Observer : Sergeant Michael Oakley Fisher RAFVR 1152463 [Killed]
Wireless Operator / Air Gunner : Flight Sergeant Norman Gray DFM RAFVR 751951 [Killed]
Rear Gunner : Sergeant Ronald Taylor RAFVR 957728 [Killed]
It was later established that P4408 was on an Air Sea Rescue search for another 50 Squadron aircraft that had been reported as crashed into the North Sea with the crew having taken to the aircraft dinghy. Flying Officer Whitecross and his off-duty crew volunteered to search the area and successfully located the lost crew. Tragically while returning to base P4408 developed engine trouble and failed to return.
No trace was ever found of P4408 and two of her crew; these men are commemorated on the monument at Runnymede. The bodies of Sgt.Taylor and Flight Sgt. Gray were recovered (when, where and how unknown) and are buried at SAGE WAR CEMETERY, NIEDERSACHSEN, Oldenburg locality, Germany. However, SAGE is a post war burial site and all graves were brought in from original sites in the outlying areas of North-West Germany and the Frisian Islands.
Details of this loss not known but it would indicate the aircraft crashed into the sea close to the East Frisian Islands, Lower Saxony, Germany, with the bodies being washed-up some time after. Note: Flying Officer Whitecross had successfully evaded capture after being shot-down on 29/4/1940 in France, returning to the UK in July via Spain and Gibraltar, Hampden AD834.
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. 50 Squadron RAF ORB (Air Ministry form 540) for 1941: http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C2503123
3. http://www.bomber-command.info/c50hamloss.htm
4. https://wallyswar.wordpress.com/operational-flight/
5. https://www.backtonormandy.org/component/mtree/air-force-operations/airplanes-allies-and-axis-lost/hampden/25730-P44081941-08-14.html
6. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/1270063/fisher,-michael-oakley/
7. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2074176/taylor,-ronald/
8. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/1531437/whitecross,-james-alexander/
9. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2073777/gray,-norman/
10. Rob Davis Bomber Command Losses Database
History of this aircraft
Other occurrences involving this aircraft
| 12 April 1940 | L4064 | 50 Sqn RAF | 4 | North Sea, 120 miles East of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Northumberland |  |
w/o |
| 23 May 1940 | L4055 | 83 Sqn RAF | 4 | near Cliff Road, Black Hill, 4 miles South of Holmfirth, West Yorkshir | |
w/o |
| 26 March 1942 | AT151 | 50 Sqn RAF | 4 | North Sea N of Vlieland, Friesland |  |
w/o |
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 31-Jul-2018 19:07 | Dr. John Smith | Added |
| 12-Nov-2018 20:37 | Nepa | Updated [Operator, Operator] |
| 15-Aug-2023 08:40 | Rob Davis | Updated [[Operator, Operator]] |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
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