Date:	Monday 17 June 1940
Time:	morning
Type:	Hawker Hurricane Mk 1
Owner/operator:	56 (Punjab) Sqn RAF
Registration:	P2882
MSN:	US-R
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	West Horsley, Surrey -   United Kingdom
Phase:	Combat
Nature:	Military
Departure airport:	RAF North Weald, Essex
Destination airport:	RAF North Weald, Essex

Narrative:
Hawker Hurricane Mk.I P2882 (US-R), 56 (Punjab) Squadron, RAF: Written off (destroyed) when crashed in the UK on 17 June 1940. Pilot killed. According to the official Air Ministry file into the incident (File AIR 81/930): "Hurricane P2882 lost in air operations, 17 June 1940. Flying Officer L Ereminsky: report of death"

During an operational patrol a tragic event occurred. A section led by Flying Officer L Ereminsky had taken off from RAF North Weald in Essex on a grey and murky morning, and soon the weather closed in. On returning to North Weald, however, only two aircraft emerged from the gloom and landed. On completing the patrol, the leader for some reason had decided to fly low, but he ventured too low and struck the roof of a house in West Horsley, Surrey, with fatal consequences. Thus an experienced pilot was lost before the Battle started. By early July, the squadron was again fully operational with a core of experienced pilots and ground crew.

Crew of Hurricane P2882:
Pilot Officer Leonid Ereminsky (Pilot, RAF 39609, aged 22) - killed on active service 17/06/1940, buried at Whyteleafe (St. Lukes) Churchyard, Kenley, Surrey

The reported crash location of West Horsley is a semi-rural village between Guildford and Leatherhead in Surrey, England. It lies on the A246, at approximate co ordinates 51.261°N 0.454°W

1. Royal Air Force Aircraft P1000-P9999 (James J .Halley, Air Britain, 1978)
2. National Archives (PRO Kew) File AIR 81/930: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C14502562
3. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2436057/ereminsky,-leonid/
4. https://forum.keypublishing.com/forum/historic-aviation/128641-hawker-hurricane-p2882
5. National Archives (PRO Kew) File AVIA 5/19/W794
6. http://www.rafcommands.com/forum/showthread.php?8452-F-O-L-Ereminsky-RAF
7. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Horsley .

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
29-Sep-2019 17:02	Dr. John Smith	Added
29-Sep-2019 17:04	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Source, Narrative]
02-Oct-2019 09:21	stehlik49	Updated [Operator]