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 19 May 1940 |
Time: | 18:00 LT |
Type: | Hawker Hurricane Mk 1 |
Owner/operator: | 56 (Punjab) Sqn RAF |
Registration: | N2439 |
MSN: | US-J |
Fatalities: | Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1 |
Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
Location: | Biache-Saint-Vaast, Pas-de-Calais Department, Hauts-de-France -
France
|
Phase: | Combat |
Nature: | Military |
Departure airport: | Vitry-en-Artois, near Douai, France |
Destination airport: | |
Narrative:Hawker Hurricane Mk.I N2439 (US-J) 56 (Punjab) Squadron, RAF: Written off (destroyed) when lost (failed to return) from a combat air patrol on 18 May 1940. Pilot killed. According to the official Air Ministry file on the incident: "Hurricane N2439 crashed at Biache-Saint-Vaast, France, 18 May 1940. Acting Flight Lieutenant I S Soden: report of death"
Details lacking, but was one of two 56 Squadron Hurricane lost on 18 May 1940; the squadron had only relocated to Vitry-en-Artois the previous day, and the above incident was the squadron's first day of combat air patrols. One source (see link #5) states that Hurricane N2439 was shot down by a Bf 110 at 18:00 hours at Biache-Saint-Vaast
Crew of Hurricane N2439:
Flight Lieutenant (Pilot) Ian Scovil Soden, RAF 33289, DSO, age 23, killed in action 18/05/1940, buried at Biache-St Vaast Communal Cemetery, France
The reported crash location of Biache-Saint-Vaast is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region in northern France at approximate Coordinates: 50°18′45″N 2°56′42″E
Note that some published unofficial sources list the Hurricane of F/O Frank Rose as "N2439"; two 56 Squadron Hurricanes were lost in the combat air patrols of 18 May 1940. N2430 (with F/O Rose) was one, the other other was N2439 (Flight Lieutenant Ian S. Soden). The Air Ministry AIR 81 files confirm which pilot was in which aircraft.
Sources:
1. Royal Air Force Aircraft N1000-N9999 (James J Halley, Air Britain, 1977 p 13)
2. National Archives (PRO Kew) file AIR 81/431:
https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C14502102 3.
https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2278855/soden,-ian-scovil/ 4.
http://www.epibreren.com/ww2/raf/56_squadron.html#1805 5.
http://francecrashes39-45.net/page_fiche_av.php?id=715 6.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biache-Saint-Vaast Revision history:
Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
24-Jul-2019 00:35 |
Dr. John Smith |
Added |
25-Jul-2019 13:37 |
Nepa |
Updated [Operator, Operator] |