ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 226748
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: | Sunday 12 May 1940 |
| Time: | 09:35 |
| Type: |  Bristol Blenheim Mk IV |
| Owner/operator: | 107 Sqn RAF |
| Registration: | L8748 |
| MSN: | OM-K |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 3 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | near Breendonk, Antwerp. -
 Belgium
|
| Phase: | Combat |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | RAF Wattisham, Suffolk |
Blenheim L8748/K: Written off (damaged beyond repair) when force landed near Breendonk, between Brussels and Antwerp, Belgium (at approximate co ordinates: 51°03′N 4°20′E) during combat operations. All three crew survived: one was injured, captured while being treated for his injuries, and taken as a PoW, the other two evaded capture, and made their own way back to England.
According to the official Air Ministry file onto the incident (File AIR 81/310): "Blenheim L8748 force landed near Brussels, Belgium, 12 May 1940. Sergeant R Brown and Flying Officer R C Rotheram: returned to England. Leading Aircraftman C E Coote prisoner of war".
At 09:00 hrs no less than two complete Blenheim Mk.IV squadrons from Bomber Command attacked the bridges at Maastricht. It was again a bloody confrontation. Of the 24 planes no less than ten were downed, four of them from 107 Squadron. Simultaneously five Fairey Battles Mk.I light bombers of 12 Squadron attacked the nearby bridge at Vroenhoven. All five planes were shot down. Aerial photographs taken during the Blenheim mission showed that all 96 bombs had missed their targets.
L8748 was one of four No.107 Squadron Blenheims lost on this operation. Airborne from Wattisham, briefed to destroy the strategic bridges across the Albert Kanaal at Maastricht. Badly shot about by Bf 109s and force landed in a part of Belgium still in Allied control.
Crew of Blenheim L8748:
F/O (33374) Ronald Cooper ROTHERAM DFC (pilot) RAF: evaded capture, made his own way back to England
Sgt (562973) Ralph BROWN (Obs.) RAF: sustained minor injuries, evaded capture, made his own way back to UK
LAC (549667) Cyril Edward "Ted" COOTE DFM (WOp/AG) RAF: Injured, captured and taken as PoW
Leading Aircraftman C. Ed. "Ted" Coote (DFM) sustained severe leg injuries and was still in Le Touquet Hospital when the area was over-run by the advancing Germans and he was taken into captivity. C.E."Ted" Coote was eventually interned in Camps L1/L6/357, PoW No.287. DFM Gazetted 30/07/1940 whilst as PoW. Promoted to Warrant Officer in May 1943, whilst still in captivity.
According to C Edward "Ted" Coote's own account:
"Ted was in 107 Squadron which, in May 1939 moved from Harwell and, with 110 Squadron opened new the RAF station at Wattisham were Ted a Wireless Op/Air Gunner in Blenheims. On 12/05/1940 returning from Maastricht Bridge raid in Blenheim L8748, force landed in Belgium. Describes the crash, being trapped, attempts to destroy his IFF unit, injuries to Observer Sgt Brown, arrival of van with RAF personnel with ‘P’ on tunic shoulder. Was told ‘P’ was for Phantom.
Crew of L8748 were taken to Belgian GHQ where Flying Officer R.C. Rotheram (their uninjured pilot) talking with Admiral Sir Roger Keynes and King Leopold of the Belgians.
C.E. "Ted" Coote and Sgt R. Brown treated at Brussels hospital and next day (13/05/1940) at Ghent before being separated. C.E. "Ted" Coote was put on a hospital train to Le Touquet. After one week Germans overran place and Ted became a PoW. His log book was destroyed while a PoW.
In the early 1990s Ted phoned by W/O Paddy Porter who researching RAF Wattisham. Via Paddy, Ted contacted by Stan Durban who researching three 107 Squadron aircrew whose graves he’d seen in Belgium, KIA 12/05/1940, and whom Ted had known.
Stan took Ted to PRO at Kew to view his ops record in Lossiemouth and Wattisham on microfilm of 107 Squadron ORB, including their crash near Belgian GHQ. Then searched for ‘Phantoms’. The Belgian Musee Royal de l’Armee et Histoire Militaire showed that L8748 had crashed near Breendonk, and that the Belgian GHQ was at Fort Breendonk nearby.
In 1994 found PRO file ‘No 3 Air Mission (Phantom)’ containing two messages dated 12/05/1940 concerning forced landing of L8748. The combined British Mission consisted RAF, No 3 Air Mission; the Army, the Hopkinson Mission. The Missions aimed to co-ordinate Allied and Belgian air force actions and transmit this info to AOC with BAFF".
Sources:
1. Royal Air Force Aircraft L1000-L9999 (James J. Halley Air Britain, 1978)
2. National Archives (PRO Kew) File AIR 81/310: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C14142159
3. http://www.epibreren.com/ww2/raf/107_squadron.html
4. http://blenheimsociety.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/BB-Journal-20-29-list-of-contents-for-website.pdf
5. http://forum.12oclockhigh.net/showpost.php?p=31609&postcount=2
6. http://www.albertlucking2717.org.uk/page52.html
7. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breendonk
History of this aircraft
Other occurrences involving this aircraft
| 24 April 1940 | L8750 | 107 Sqn RAF | 3 | Missing - North Sea |  |
w/o |
| 6 April 1941 | V6023 | 107 Sqn RAF | 3 | the sea off Pittenweem, Fife, Scotland |  |
w/o |
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 02-Jul-2019 18:10 | Dr. John Smith | Added |
| 02-Jul-2019 18:15 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Narrative] |
| 04-Jul-2019 06:41 | stehlik49 | Updated [Operator] |
| 15-Nov-2022 07:24 | Ron Averes | Updated [Location] |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
The Aviation Safety Network is an exclusive service provided by:
Quick Links:
| ASN Home | Send Correction / Feedback |
| FSF Home | Disclaimer | Copyright |
| Contact Us | Privacy Policy |
| Press / Media |
CONNECT WITH US:
©2024 Flight Safety Foundation