Date & Time:
May 18, 1940 at 1605 LT
Type of aircraft:
Bristol 142 Blenheim
Operator:
Registration:
L8853
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Military
Survivors:
Yes
Site:
Plain, Valley
Schedule:
Wyton – Abbeville
Country:
France
Region:
Europe
Crew on board:
3
Crew fatalities:
2
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
0
Other fatalities:
0
Total fatalities:
2
Circumstances:
The airplane departed RAF Wyton on a positioning flight to Abbeville. While cruising northeast of Le Cateau-Cambrésis, it was shot down by the pilot of a Me.109 and crashed. Two crew members were killed and a third was injured.
Crew:
S/L Hector Yeates Lawrence, pilot, †
Sgt Reginald George Hopkins, observer, †
LAC E. L. H. Thomas, wireless operator and air gunner.
Crew:
S/L Hector Yeates Lawrence, pilot, †
Sgt Reginald George Hopkins, observer, †
LAC E. L. H. Thomas, wireless operator and air gunner.
Probable cause:
Shot down by a German fighter.
