ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 53896
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| Date: | Tuesday 2 July 1940 |
| Time: | night |
| Type: |  Fairey Swordfish Mk I |
| Owner/operator: | 825 Sqn FAA RN |
| Registration: | L7646 |
| MSN: | F3388 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 2 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | Polder South Blankenburg, Rozenburg, Zuid-Holland -
 Netherlands
|
| Phase: | Combat |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | RNAS Worthy Down (HMS Kestrel), Hampshire, England |
| RNAS Worthy Down (HMS Kestrel), Hampshire, England |
Fairey Swordfish, L7646 'G5-B', 825 Squadron, Fleet Air Arm, Royal Navy, operating from RNAS Worthy Down (HMS Kestrel), Hampshire, England, was shot down on 2nd July 1940 by anti-aircraft fire during an attack on barges in Rotterdam harbour. Pilot, Sub-Lieutenants Barry Pawlet Grigson and Air Gunner, Observer, Frederick Leonard Lees, were killed.
According to a rough translation into English of an original Dutch website (see link #5 for the oiriginakl Dutch text):
"Fairey Swordfish crashed in polder South Blankenburg
In the night of 1 to 2 July, 18 Fairey Swordfishes and five Fairey Albacores aircraft attacked a concentration of ships in the Meuse east of Rotterdam. This operation was related to the German invasion plans against England, in which the occupying forces seized seized barges as landing vessels. The attack was carried out by three Fleet Air Arm Squadrons of the Royal Navy. It consisted of 12 Swordfishes of 825 Squadron, six Swordfishes of 812 Squadron and five Albacores of 826 Squadron. The weather conditions were not too good.
The clouds gave the pilots a lot of problems. It also made navigation difficult so that not all Swordfishes reached the target. Of the 825 Squadron aircraft, five Swordfishes did not return on their own base, but landed in various places in England.
Two Swordfishes of this Squadron were hit by anti-aircraft guns above the Netherlands. One of these aircraft crashed on the island of Rozenburg. The biplane L7646 quickly lost altitude and flew in the direction of the Kerkdijk. The crew members try to save their lives by using their parachute. However, it was too late for two of them, the amount was insufficient. Both died in the polder Langeplaat. The unmanned Swordfish hit one of the walls on the Kerkdijk for floodplains between the farm of Reijer and Leun van Galen and the Fort. The Fort was a dyke house in which several families lived, including the Leen Sonneveld and IJsbrand Koornneef familes
After the blow against the wall of the flood defense on the Kerkdijk, the Bristol Pegasus engine of the aircraft swung behind the Fort. Telephone and electricity wires were destroyed by the Swordfish. One hundred meters further L7646 crashed on the land of Adam Barendregt in the polder South Blankenburg burned out completely.
Sources:
1. Royal Air Force Aircraft L1000-N9999 (James J Halley, Air Britain, 1983)
2. http://www.nimh.nl/nl/images/1940%20sec_tcm5-7281.pdf
3. https://www.tracesofwar.com/sights/2197/Commonwealth-War-Graves-Rozenburg.htm
4. http://ww2talk.com/index.php?threads/battle-of-britain-casualties-r-a-f-or-fleet-air-arm-during-the-period-10-july-to-31-october-1940.24927/page-8
5. http://www.koosp.nl/wo%20deel%204/wo%20deel%204%201d/index.htm
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 17-Dec-2008 11:45 | ASN archive | Added |
| 06-Dec-2017 15:13 | Laurent Rizzotti | Updated [Aircraft type] |
| 08-Apr-2018 22:53 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Time, Operator, Total fatalities, Total occupants, Other fatalities, Location, Phase, Departure airport, Source, Narrative] |
| 08-Oct-2018 17:58 | Nepa | Updated [Operator, Operator] |
| 07-Jan-2021 17:14 | Peter Clarke | Updated [Cn, Location, Departure airport, Destination airport, Narrative] |
| 21-Jun-2022 09:39 | Ron Averes | Updated [Location] |
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