Crash of a Bristol 142 Blenheim I in Idar-Oberstein

Date & Time: Oct 13, 1939
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
L1138
Flight Phase:
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Metz - Metz
MSN:
8421
YOM:
1938
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
3
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
2
Circumstances:
The airplane departed Metz on a reconnaissance mission over Hanover. En route, it was shot down by the pilot of a German fighter and entered a dive. A crewman was able to bail out before the aircraft crashed in an openfield. Both other crew members were killed.
Crew:
W/Cdr Harry Melville Arbuthnot, pilot,
Sgt Eric Bernard Hillier, observer, †
AC2 Frederick George Moller, wireless operator and air gunner. †
Probable cause:
Shot down by a German fighter.