Date:	Tuesday 14 May 1940
Time:	15:40 LT
Type:	Fairey Battle Mk I
Owner/operator:	103 Sqn RAF
Registration:	L5446
MSN:
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 2
Aircraft damage:	Substantial
Location:	Singly, 6 miles SW of Sedan, Ardennes -   France
Phase:	Combat
Nature:	Military
Departure airport:	Betheniville, France
Destination airport:

Narrative:
Fairey Battle Mk.I L5446 (PM-N) 103 Squadron, RAF: Written off (destroyed) when lost (failed to return) on combat operations on 14 May 1940. According to the official Air Ministry File on the incident (File AIR 81/335): "Battle L5446 force landed at Singly, France, 14 May 1940. Sergeant G Beardsley and Aircraftman 1st Class G F Lewis: missing, later reported to be safe".

Battle L5446 was one of eight aircraft from 103 Squadron airborne from Betheniville, France at 16:30 on 14 May 1940. Target: Bridges over the Albert Kanaal in the Sedan area. The encountered fierce flak and fighter opposition, and three of them were lost

Battle L5446 was shot down by Bf 109s from 1./JG 53 during an attack on the bridge at Mouzon, and belly landed at Singly, south west of Sedan at 15:40 hours. The Fairey Battle was possibly one of those claimed as shot down by Uffz. Hohnisch of 1./JG 53. Both crew - Sergeant G Beardsley and Aircraftman 1st Class G F Lewis - survived the crash, got out of their wrecked aircraft, and walked 30 miles back to their unit, arriving safely three days later, on May 17

The crash site of Singly is a commune in the Ardennes department in northern France, south west of Sedan at approximate Coordinates: 49°38′34″N 4°42′05″E. Note that some published sources give the crash location as "Signy" (=Signy-l'Abbaye) which is a completely different location, still in the department of Ardennes, in the north-eastern French region of Grand Est, but at Coordinates: 49°41′54″N 4°25′16″E. The two locations are some 24 km apart.

1. Royal Air Force Aircraft L1000-L9999 (James j Halley, Air Britain 1978)
2. The Battle File (Sidney Shail, Air Britain, 1997)
3. National Archives (PRO Kew) File AIR 81/335: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C14502329
4. http://aircrewremembered.com/beardsley-g.html
5. http://www.epibreren.com/ww2/raf/103_squadron.html#1406
6. http://francecrashes39-45.net/page_fiche_av.php?id=1916
7. https://vwma.org.au/explore/units/1468
8. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Singly

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
06-Jul-2019 22:52	Dr. John Smith	Added
07-Jul-2019 21:24	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Location]
08-Jul-2019 05:47	stehlik49	Updated [Operator]
30-Jun-2022 04:55	Ron Averes	Updated [Location]