ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 73036
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| Date: | Tuesday 13 June 1944 |
| Time: | 02:50 |
| Type: |  de Havilland DH.98 Mosquito NF Mk XIII |
| Owner/operator: | 410 (Cougar) Sqn RCAF |
| Registration: | HK459 |
| MSN: | RA-A |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 2 |
| Other fatalities: | 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | Landing Strip ALG B-3 Sainte-Croix-sur-Mer, Calvados, near Channel. -
 France
|
| Phase: | Combat |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | RAF Hunsdon, Hertfordshire |
Mosquito HK459/A: Took off at 00:10 hrs for Night patrol 13/06/1944
P/O Kearney and F/O Bradford, who already had one victory to their credit, made it two by shooting down a He.177 in flames north-east of Le Havre. Their first burst missed the Heinkel, which was seen to be carrying some object slung out-board of each engine; but the second burst struck home. The starboard engine and wing root began to burn, and a large panel flew off. As the Mosquito orbited, watching the bomber go down steeply in flames, one member of the crew was noticed to bale out. When the Heinkel crashed the terrificexplosion illuminated and shook the night fighter 6,000 feet above. Kearney nosed down to take a photograph of the fiercely burning wreckage. At that moment the Mosquito's engines began to cut up. First, one ran rough, streaming sparks; then the other started to heat up and the first one again caught fire. The propeller was feathered and the flames died out but, unable to maintain height, Kearney asked if he could put down on one of the advanced landing grounds on the beachhead. It was necessary to fire Very lights so the night fighter could see where the strip was and in turn be locatedby the ground control. The first attempt at a crash-landing overshot and, after skimming under a balloon barrage that was flying at one end of the strip, Kearney and Bradford tried again. The Mosquito hit the ground, wheels up, and skidded to the end of the runway where it struck a truck,killing a man who was in it. The wreckage finally came to a stop in a field, a complete washout, but neither of the crew was injured.
Crew:
P/O (J/19869) Leonard Joseph KEARNEY (pilot) RCAF - Ok
F/O (J/20598) Norman W. BRADFORD (nav.) RCAF - Ok
+
Sgt (1106408) William SCHOFIELD (driver /2809 Sqdn RAF) RAFVR - killed
Sources:
1.http://www.airhistory.org.uk/dh/_DH98%20prodn%20list.txtt
2.ORB 410 Sqdn RCAF
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 24-Feb-2010 03:30 | NePa | Added |
| 30-Jan-2012 08:37 | Nepa | Updated [Operator, Phase, Departure airport, Source, Narrative] |
| 10-Mar-2014 08:50 | Nepa | Updated [Aircraft type, Narrative] |
| 01-Oct-2014 14:45 | Kraus | Updated [Location] |
| 14-May-2015 16:52 | Giggatson | Updated [Departure airport, Narrative] |
| 16-Aug-2015 15:59 | Nepa | Updated [Aircraft type, Location, Narrative] |
| 05-Nov-2015 10:43 | Roup | Updated [Cn] |
| 25-Dec-2015 18:54 | T.T.Taylor | Updated [Source] |
| 09-May-2019 20:10 | Nepa | Updated [Narrative, Operator] |
| 17-Dec-2021 13:03 | Nepa | Updated [Time, Location, Source, Narrative, Operator] |
| 18-Dec-2021 11:51 | Nepa | Updated [Location, Narrative, Operator] |
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