ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 228325
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| Date: | Monday 27 May 1940 |
| Time: | morning |
| Type: |  Hawker Hurricane Mk 1 |
| Owner/operator: | 605 (County of Warwick) Sqn RAF |
| Registration: | L2119 |
| MSN: | UP-Z |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | Poperinge, West Flanders -
 Belgium
|
| Phase: | Combat |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | RAF Hawkinge, Folkestone, Kent |
Hawker Hurricane Mk.I L2119 (UP-Z) 605 (County of Warwick Squadron) RAF: Written off (presumed destroyed) when lost (failed to return) for a combat air patrol over the Calais-Dunkirk area, Pas-de-Calais, France. Pilot survived, bailed out, but was captured and taken as a PoW. According to the official Air Ministry file into the incident (File AIR 81/587): "Hurricane L2119 failed to return from an operational flight over Calais, France, 27 May 1940. Flight Lieutenant N Forbes: prisoner of war"
According to the 605 (County of Warwick) Squadron diary, and published history for May 27 1940:
"On the 27th 605 again joined forces with 32 Squadron to act as escort to a group of Blenheims, during which a small group of Dornier 17s were sighted but no engagement was possible. Norman Forbes was lost during this mission, last seen near Poperinghe, and later reported to have been captured and made a POW by the Germans."
Flight Lieut. Norman ("Bricky") Forbes Royal Air Force. Captured 27 May 1940 while flying a Hurricane over the French coast. In April 1941 Airey Neave escaped from Thorn PoW camp with Norman Forbes. They were captured near Itow while trying to enter Soviet-controlled Poland, and were briefly in the hands of the Gestapo. In May 1941 they were both sent to Colditz Castle. Forbes and Airey Neave had escaped from Stalag XXA Thorn (Thorun) hoping to manage to steal an aeroplane at the German airfield of Graudenz, but were recaptured. Arrived in Colditz on 14th May 1941 on the same day as Lieutenant Airey Neave Royal Artillery, Lieutenant Commander Stevenson RN, Squadron Leader Brian Paddon .
The reported crash location of Poperinge is a municipality located in the Belgian province of West Flanders, Flemish Region, at approximate Coordinates: 50°51′N 02°44′E, eight miles west of Ypres. (That is a long way - approximately 79 km - from the official crash location of "Calais", which is also in a different country!)
Sources:
1. Royal Air Force Aircraft L1000-L9999 (James J Halley, Air Britain, 1978 p 15)
2. National Archives (PRO Kew) File AIR 81/587: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C14502225
3. http://www.605squadron.co.uk/We%20Never%20Slept%20-%20The%20Story%20of%20605%20Squadron.pdf
4. http://www.rafcommands.com/archive/04696.php
5. http://www.colditz-4c.com/tour/p14/p14.htm
6. http://www.epibreren.com/ww2/raf/605_squadron.html#2705
7. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poperinge
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 18-Aug-2019 20:50 | Dr. John Smith | Added |
| 19-Aug-2019 17:59 | stehlik49 | Updated [Operator] |
| 25-Jun-2022 10:37 | Ron Averes | Updated [Location] |
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