Date:	Sunday 12 May 1940
Time:	17:00 LT
Type:	Fairey Battle Mk I
Owner/operator:	218 Sqn RAF
Registration:	K9353
MSN:
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 3 / Occupants: 3
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	Sensenruth, 3 km N of Bouillon, Luxembourg -   Belgium
Phase:	Combat
Nature:	Military
Departure airport:	Aubérive-sur-Suippes, France
Destination airport:

Narrative:
Fairey Battle Mk.1 K9353 (HA-J) 218 Squadron, RAF: Written off (destroyed) when lost on combat operations. All three crew were killed. According to the official Air Ministry report into the incident: "Battle K9353 shot down near Bouillon, Belgium, 12 May 1940. Sergeant J B Horner, Sergeant L C Flisher and Leading Aircraftman L D Davies: report of deaths".

The AASF's Battles carried out an operation during the afternoon when 15 aircraft attacked German troops near Bouillon. Six aircraft failed to return. During the day, the Battles had suffered an amazing loss rate of 62%. K9353 was airborne from Auberive-sur-Suippes. Shot down by intense ground Flak/AA fire at Sensenruth, 3 km North of Bouillon, Belgium. According to some sources, the Battle failed to release its bomb load before being shot down, and that the bombs on board exploded after the aircraft crashed into the trunk of a tree

Crew of Battle K9353:
Flight Sgt John Bland Horner (Pilot, aged 24) 580159 - killed in action 12/05/1940
Sgt Leonard Charles Flisher (Observer) 564186 - killed in action 12/05/1940
LAC Leslie Douglas Davies (Wireless Op./Air Gunner, aged 21) 537015 - killed in action 12/05/1940

All three crew fatalities were buried at Senseruth (Curfoz) in Belgium. Sensenruth is a village of the Belgian city of Bouillon located in the Walloon Region in the province of Luxembourg at approximate co ordinates: 49°49 'North, 5°04' East.

1. Royal Air Force Aircraft K1000-K9999 (James J. Halley, Air Britain, 1976)
2. The Battle File (Sidney Shail, Air Britain, 1997)
3. National Archives (PRO Kew) File AIR 81/303: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C14142152
4. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2258981/horner,-john-bland/
5. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2258980/flisher,-leonard-charles/
6. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2258979/davies,-leslie-douglas/
7. http://www.epibreren.com/ww2/raf/218_squadron.html
8. https://www.tracesofwar.com/sights/2611/Commonwealth-War-Graves-Curfoz.htm
9. https://218squadron.wordpress.com/fairey-battles-bouillon-75th-commemoration/
10. https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sensenruth

Three Battle Mark Is, K9353 (HA-J), K9324 (HA-B) and K9325 (HA-D), of No. 218 Squadron RAF, based at Auberives-sur-Suippes, in flight over northern France. K9325 went missing during an attack on enemy troops near St Vith on 11 May 1940, and K9353 was shot down north of Bouillon the following day. K9324 survived the Battle of France to serve with the RAAF until 1944.

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
02-Feb-2011 14:10	ThW	Added
29-Jun-2019 18:17	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Registration, Operator, Total fatalities, Total occupants, Other fatalities, Location, Phase, Departure airport, Source, Embed code, Damage, Narrative]
29-Jun-2019 18:52	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Date, Time, Location, Source, Narrative]
30-Jun-2019 10:23	stehlik49	Updated [Operator]
28-Jun-2022 00:35	Ron Averes	Updated [Location]