Date:	Wednesday 29 May 1940
Time:	17:30 LT
Type:	Hawker Hurricane Mk 1
Owner/operator:	229 Sqn RAF
Registration:	N2521
MSN:	RE-M
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	English Channel, off Dunkirk, Pas de Calais -   France
Phase:	Combat
Nature:	Military
Departure airport:	Merville, Lille, France
Destination airport:

Narrative:
Hawker Hurricane Mk.I N2521 (RE-M) 229 Squadron, RAF: Written off (destroyed) when lost (failed to return) from a combat air patrol on 29 May 1940. Pilot survived. According to the official Air Ministry file into the incident (File AIR 81/685): "Hurricane N2521 damaged and abandoned over Dunkirk, France, 29 May 1940. Pilot Officer A S Linney: missing, later reported safe"

Airborne from Merville, Lille, France for a combat air patrol over the Dunkirk area; May 29 1940 was a bad day for 229 Squadron, as they lost five Hurricanes (and three pilots) in on one day during air to air combat with Bf-109s over Dunkirk. Hurricane N2521 was lost, but on this particular occasion, the pilot survived and bailed out.

229 Squadron Hurricanes lost 29/5/40:
N2473 - F/O W G New RAF (survived, injured)
N2521 - P/O Anthony Stuart Linney RAF (survived, injured)
P2636 - Flight Lieutenant Patrick E.S.F.M. Browne, RAF (killed)
P3489 - Flight Lieutenant (Pilot) Falcon N. Clouston, RAF (killed)
P2876 - Sergeant (Pilot) James C. Harrison, RAF

According to a biography of the pilot:

"Anthony Stuart Linney of Hemsworth, Yorkshire joined the RAF on a short service commission and began his initial training course on 28th December 1938. With his training completed he was posted to 229 Squadron on 4th October 1939 when it reformed at Digby.

The squadron sent a flight to France in May 1940, from the 18th to the 24th. On the 23rd Linney damaged a Me109 in the Merville area. Over Dunkirk on the 29th Linney was shot down in Hurricane N2521 and baled out, returning safely to the squadron.

He made his last sortie with 229 on 18th September 1940, an uneventful one with no contact made with the enemy. He was posted away in October and in July 1941 was serving with the MSFU at Speke. After completing his catapult training Linney was posted to Canada as a back-up pilot to replace any pilot fired off on a voyage from the UK and killed or injured. He remained at Dartmouth, Nova Scotia for nine months as CO of the MSFU Pool.

Linney was made an OBE (gazetted 2nd June 1943) and was released from the RAF in 1945 as a Wing Commander. He died in 1983."

1. Royal Air Force Aircraft N1000-N9999 (James J Halley, Air Britain, 1977 p 13)
2. National Archives (PRO Kew) File AIR 81/685: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C14502349
3. Men of The Battle of Britain: A Biographical Dictionary of The Few By Kenneth G. Wynn
4. http://www.epibreren.com/ww2/raf/229_squadron.html#2905
5. http://forum.12oclockhigh.net/archive/index.php?t-12532.html
6. http://www.bbm.org.uk/airmen/Linney.htm

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
30-Aug-2019 21:11	Dr. John Smith	Added
30-Aug-2019 21:22	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Source]
31-Aug-2019 06:33	stehlik49	Updated [Operator]