Date:	Sunday 7 July 1940
Time:	18:07 LT
Type:	Bristol Blenheim Mk IV
Owner/operator:	15 Sqn RAF
Registration:	R3896
MSN:	LS-X
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 3 / Occupants: 3
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	Bruges-Zeebrugge Canal, Dudzele, West Flanders -   Belgium
Phase:	Combat
Nature:	Military
Departure airport:	RAF Alconbury, Cambridgeshire
Destination airport:

Narrative:
Bristol Blenheim Mk.IV R3896 (LS-X) 15 Squadron RAF: Written off (destroyed) when lost (Failed To Return) from combat operations over Belgium. All three crew killed. According to the official Air Ministry file into the incident (File AIR 81/1111): "Blenheim R3896 crashed into the Bruges-Zeebrugge Canal, Belgium, 7 July 1940. Pilot Officer H C M Bamber, Sergeant G Reid and Sergeant J Holdsworth: report of deaths"

On 7 July 1940, this aircraft flew out of Alconbury near RAF Wyton on an operation to Ghent and crashed into the Bruges-Zeebrugge Canal, Dudzele near Bruges after being shot down by a Messerchmitt Bf109E of the ‘Grünherz’. According to a German source, roughly translated:

"On 7.7.1940 at 6 p.m. I was told by the tower guard that there was fire in the direction of Ghent Flak. With strong binoculars I could see that a plane was being shot at that flew in the direction of Ghent-Knokke. When Knokke also opened fire, the plane bowed and flew towards Ostend. As a result, it partly left the protection of the cloud cover and it was clearly visible. In the meantime, two hunters had also appeared to record the chase. Apparently the enemy pilot had not noticed this yet, because suddenly it turned to the left, towards Bruges.

The Flak stationed here immediately opened fire without allowing the machine to be influenced. She glided to carry out an attack on the gas company present here. She dropped two jump bombs and two fire bombs. The first fell into the garden of the gas company. A gas meter with 1200 cubic meters of gas was hit by bomb splinters. This caused gas to flow out in the form of a flash flame. Four fire bombs fell in a nearby place where a horse was killed. No further damage was caused.

During the attack, the enemy machine shot with machine gun fire. After the bombs were dropped, the aircraft turned and flew in the direction of the Sea Canal (now known as the Baudouin Canal) towards the coast. In the meantime, both hunters were on site and immediately seated themselves behind the bomber. Shortly thereafter, black clouds of smoke appeared behind the machine and crashed. The crash site is in the vicinity of the village of Dudzele.

The bomber fell in the immediate vicinity of two ships loaded with powder. The machine and the corpse patches showed that the machine was completely destroyed. 2 corpses were recovered on Monday. An identity card of an English crew member was found by skippers and issued to the “Dienststelle” (Service). The pass was passed on to the Feldkommandatur with a message."

The three who died were:
RAF 42375 Pilot Officer Hugh Christopher Morris Bamber (Pilot) aged 19
RAF 746818 Sgt George Reid (Wireless Op./Air Gunner) aged 28
RAF 749458 Sgt John Holdsworth (Observer)

All three crew fatalities were buried at Brugge General Cemetery West-Vlaanderen, Belgium

1. Royal Air Force Aircraft R1000-R9999 (James J Halley, Air Britain, 1980)
2. National Aircraft (PRO Kew) File AIR 81/1111: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C14502923
3. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2082581/bamber,-hugh-christopher-morris/
4. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2082639/reid,-george/
5. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2082612/holdsworth,-john/
6. http://wo1dudzele.brugseverenigingen.be/ENGELSEBOMMENWERPERSTORTNEERAANHERDERSBRUGDUDZELE (Belgian text)
7. https://www.tracesofwar.com/sights/106350/Memorial-Bristol-Blenheim-R3896.htm
8. https://hewasahero.wordpress.com/2014/10/21/bristol-blenheim-mk-iv-r3896-ls-x-of-15-sqdn/
9. http://xvsqnassociation.co.uk/archive/2014_Newsletter.pdf (pages 10-11)

Other occurrences involving this aircraft

23 May 1940

L9403

15 Sqn RAF

3

near Morval, 7 km SSE of Bapaume, Pas de Calais, Hauts de France

w/o

Memorial bench to the crew of Blenheim R3896 at Dudzele

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
15-Oct-2019 02:34	Dr. John Smith	Added
15-Oct-2019 07:26	juza7	Updated [Operator]
25-Jun-2022 20:28	Ron Averes	Updated [Location]