Date:	Thursday 11 July 1940
Time:	23:20 LT
Type:	Avro Anson Mk I
Owner/operator:	500 (County of Kent) Sqn RAF
Registration:	N5220
MSN:	MK-D
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 3 / Occupants: 4
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	Molenhaven (Oosterlandsedijk road), Brielle, Zuid-Holland -   Netherlands
Phase:	Combat
Nature:	Military
Departure airport:	RAF Detling, Maidstone, Kent
Destination airport:	RAF Detling, Maidstone, Kent

Narrative:
Avro Anson Mk.1 N5220 (MK-D) 500 (County of Kent) Squadron, RAF: Written off (destroyed) when lost (Failed To Return) from patrol operations over the North Sea. According to the official Air Ministry file into the incident (File AIR 81/1092): "Anson N5220 crashed near Rotterdam, The Netherlands, 11 July 1940. Pilot Officer A R Mathias, Flying Officer A W A Whitehead and Aircraftman 1st Class W C Hubbard: report of deaths. Sergeant H W J Smith: prisoner of war"

Takeoff at 21:15 LT for a recce operation. Anson N5220 'MK-D' of 500 (County of Kent) Squadron, Detling, failed to return from a patrol over the North Sea. Shot down by Flak. Three of the four crew killed by enemy action, one taken POW:

Crew of Anson N5220:
Pilot Officer Arthur Wilfred Alexander Whitehead (Pilot) RAF 70731, aged 29 - killed in action 11/07/1940
Pilot Officer Anthony Roland Mathias (Pilot) RAF 41603 - killed in action 11/07/1940
Sgt. HWJ. Smith; survived, captured, taken as PoW.
AC.1 William Charles Hubbard (Wireless Operator/Air Gunner) RAF 625793 - killed in action 11/07/1940

All three crew fatalities were buried at Rotterdam (Crooswijk) General Cemetery, Rotterdam, Zuid-Holland, Netherlands

1. Royal Air Force Aircraft N1000-N9999 (James J Halley, Air Britain, 1977)
2. National Archives (PRO Kew) File AIR 81/1092: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C14502825
3. The Anson File (Ray Sturtivant, Air Britiain 1988)
4. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2635041/whitehead,-arthur-wilfred-alexander/
5. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2634991/mathias,-anthony-ronald/
6. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2634970/hubbard,-william-charles/
7. https://verliesregister.studiegroepluchtoorlog.nl/rs.php?aircraft=&sglo=T0746&date=&location=&pn=&unit=&name=&cemetry=&airforce=&target=&area=&airfield=
8. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pernis,_Netherlands
.

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
17-Dec-2008 11:45	ASN archive	Added
09-Oct-2011 02:43	JINX	Updated [Aircraft type, Operator, Total fatalities, Total occupants, Phase, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative]
15-Apr-2012 10:50	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Operator, Other fatalities, Location, Source, Narrative]
13-Aug-2012 14:18	Nepa	Updated [Operator, Location, Departure airport]
14-Jun-2013 18:18	Nepa	Updated [Operator, Narrative]
24-Aug-2013 18:09	JINX	Updated [Aircraft type, Operator, Location, Source]
03-Jun-2015 16:12	Z. Zeeland	Updated [Aircraft type, Operator, Source, Narrative]
29-Sep-2015 07:58	Anon.	Updated [Narrative]
09-Jul-2019 07:13	TigerTimon	Updated [Time, Cn, Other fatalities, Location, Source, Narrative]
13-Oct-2019 02:01	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Other fatalities, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative]
13-Oct-2019 19:08	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Source, Narrative]