Crash of a Bristol 142 Blenheim IV near Cassel: 2 killed

Date & Time: May 29, 1940
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
R3664
Flight Phase:
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Andover - Andover
Location:
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
3
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
2
Circumstances:
While on a reconnaissance mission, the airplane was shot down by Flak and crashed near Cassel. Two crew members were killed and a third bailed out and survived.
Crew:
P/O J. F. H. Peters, pilot,
Sgt Thomas Wilfred McDonagh, †
Sgt Joseph Anthony Calamaro Finlayson. †
Probable cause:
Shot down by Flak.

Crash of an Amiot 354 at La Ferté-Gaucher

Date & Time: May 28, 1940
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
I-074
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
La Ferté-Gaucher - La Ferté-Gaucher
MSN:
4
YOM:
1940
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
2
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
Crashed upon landing, colliding with another Amiot 354. Both crew members evacuated safely while the aircraft was destroyed.
Crew:
Cpt Cassot, pilot,
Sgt/C Savary.

Crash of a Bristol 142 Blenheim IV in Faumont: 3 killed

Date & Time: May 27, 1940 at 0635 LT
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
L8735
Flight Phase:
Survivors:
No
Schedule:
Hawkinge - Hawkinge
Location:
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
3
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
3
Circumstances:
While on a reconnaissance mission over Saint-Omer, the airplane was shot down by enemy fire and crashed in Faumont. All three crew members were killed.
Crew:
P/O Percy F. C. Villiers-Tuthill, pilot,
Sgt Alfred H. Payne, observer,
Sgt Daniel Baxter Mearns, wireless operator and air gunner.
Probable cause:
Shot down by enemy fire.

Crash of a Bristol 142 Blenheim IV in Saint Margaret's at Cliffe

Date & Time: May 27, 1940
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
R3703
Flight Phase:
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Lympne - Lympne
Region:
Crew on board:
3
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
While returning to its base following a reconnaissance mission over Belgium, the airplane was attacked by enemy fire. The crew was able to evacuate the area and to return to England but was eventually forced to bail out and to abandon the aircraft that dove into the ground and crashed in St. Margaret's at Cliffe. All three crew members were uninjured.
Crew:
P/O Kenneth Arthur Aldridge, pilot,
Sgt H. J. McRae, observer,
AC1 R. H. Trafford, wireless operator and air gunner.
Probable cause:
Shot down by enemy fire.

Crash of a Bristol 142 Blenheim IV in Bayenghem-lès-Seninghem: 3 killed

Date & Time: May 26, 1940
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
L8863
Flight Phase:
Survivors:
No
Schedule:
Lympne - Lympne
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
3
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
3
Circumstances:
While on a reconnaissance mission, the airplane was shot down by enemy fire and crashed in Bayenghem-lès-Seninghem. All three crew members were killed.
Crew:
P/O Gerald Montague Bailey, pilot,
Sgt William John Kelsall Evans, observer,
AC1 Alan Arthur Gillmore, wireless operator and air gunner.
Probable cause:
Shot down by enemy fire.

Crash of a Bristol 142 Blenheim IV in Étrépagny

Date & Time: May 25, 1940
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
L4859
Flight Phase:
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Andover - Andover
MSN:
8874
YOM:
1939
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
3
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
The airplane departed RAF Andover on a reconnaissance mission over Abbeville and Saint-Pol. En route, it was shot down by the pilots of Heinkel and Me.109. With one engine out, the airplane belly landed in an open field and came to rest. Two crew members evaded and a third became PoW.
Crew:
P/O H. D. Carruthers, pilot,
Sgt Shelton, observer,
AC1 Salmon, wireless operator and air gunner.
Probable cause:
Shot down by German fighters.

Crash of a Martin 167F Maryland in Havenas: 1 killed

Date & Time: May 24, 1940 at 1930 LT
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
70
Flight Phase:
Survivors:
Yes
Location:
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
3
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
1
Circumstances:
While on a reconnaissance mission, the airplane was shot down by the pilot of a Me.109 and crashed near the castle of Amédée de Franceville. A crewman was killed and two others became PoW.
Crew:
Lt Georges Camille Dufort, pilot,
Sgt/C Guy Adrien Derbey, bomber,
Sgt/C Séraphin Paul Adrien Capuro, air gunner. †
Probable cause:
Shot down by a German fighter.

Crash of an Armstrong Whitworth AW.38 Whitley in Ochamps: 1 killed

Date & Time: May 24, 1940
Operator:
Registration:
N1361
Flight Phase:
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Linton-on-Ouse - Lonton-on-Ouse
MSN:
1525
YOM:
1939
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
5
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
1
Circumstances:
While on a reconnaissance mission over La Capelle, the aircraft crashed in unknown circumstances in Ochamps. A crewman was killed and four others became PoW.
Crew:
F/Lt Ian Ledoux McLaren, pilot,
Sgt James Ronald Mirfin, wireless operator and air gunner,
Sgt John Buckfield, wireless operator and air gunner,
LAC John Spencer, wireless operator and air gunner,
AC1 H. Wilkinson, air gunner.

Crash of a Lockheed L-414 Hudson I into the North Sea: 4 killed

Date & Time: May 22, 1940
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
N7402
Flight Phase:
Survivors:
No
Schedule:
Bircham Newton - Bircham Newton
MSN:
414-1798
YOM:
1940
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
4
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
4
Circumstances:
The twin engine airplane departed RAF Bircham Newton on a reconnaissance and anti-shipping patrol mission. It crashed in unknown circumstances into the North Sea. No trace was ever found.
Crew:
P/O Malcolm J. Giles, pilot,
P/O John A. Clark, pilot,
LAC Leonard J. Britton, observer,
AC1 James F. Peel, wireless operator and air gunner.

Crash of a Vickers 416 Wellington IC in Kain: 2 killed

Date & Time: May 22, 1940
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
R3157
Flight Phase:
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Feltwell - Feltwell
Location:
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
5
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
2
Circumstances:
The aircraft departed RAF Feltwell at 2120LT on May 21 on a reconnaissance mission over Dinant. Shortly after midnight, it was shot down by Flak and crashed in Kain, north of Tournai. Both pilots were killed while all three other crewmen became PoW.
Crew (75th Squadron):
F/L John Noel Collins, pilot, †
P/O Francis Albert Gabriel Joseph de Labouchere Sparling, copilot, †
Sgt G. Thorpe,
AC1 John Stanley Brooks,
P/O Leonard Phillip Redcliff Hockey.
Probable cause:
Shot down by Flak.