ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 226630
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| Date: | Sunday 12 May 1940 |
| Time: | morning |
| Type: |  Hawker Hurricane Mk 1 |
| Owner/operator: | 501 (County of Gloucester) Sqn RAF |
| Registration: | L2053 |
| MSN: | SD-M |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | Artaise-le-Vivier, Ardennes -
 France
|
| Phase: | Combat |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | Betheniville, France |
Hawker Hurricane Mk.1 L2053 (SD-M) 501 (County of Gloucester) Squadron, RAF: Written off (destroyed) on combat operations. According to the official Air Ministry File (File AIR 81/287) into the incident: "Hurricane L2053 shot down at Artaise, France, 12 May 1940. Flying Officer M F C Smith report of death".
Airborne from Betheniville, France to intercept a formation of enemy bombers; P/O M F C Smith was shot down, but bailed out from his Hurricane at too low an altitude and was killed on impact with the ground. Local inhabitants buried him secretly in a disused piggery; he was later reburied in Artaise-le-Vivier Communal Cemetery, but his identity had been lost, and the headstone stated an "unknown RAF airman". In 1963 his body was identified and he was reburied in Choloy War Cemetery.
Crew: Flying Officer Michael Fauconbridge Clifford Smith (pilot) RAF (AAF) 90026, age 27, killed in action 12/05/1940, buried (from 1963) at Choloy War Cemetery, Meurthe-et-Moselle, France
Sources:
1. Royal Air Force Aircraft L1000-L9999 (James J. Halley, Air Britain, 1978 p 15)
2. National Archives (PRO Kew) File AIR 81/287: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C14142136
3. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2319965/smith,-michael-fauconberge-clifford/
4. http://aircrewremembered.com/rayner-peter-herbert.html
5. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artaise-le-Vivier
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 28-Jun-2019 03:06 | Dr. John Smith | Added |
| 30-Jun-2019 10:30 | stehlik49 | Updated [Operator] |
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