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Crash of an Armstrong Whitworth AW.38 Whitley V into The Channel

Date & Time: Mar 28, 1942 at 0200 LT
Type of aircraft:
Armstrong Whitworth AW.38 Whitley
Operator:
Registration:
Z9304
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Bombing
Survivors:
Yes
Site:
Lake, Sea, Ocean, River
Schedule:
Dishforth – Dishforth
MSN:
2368
YOM:
1941
Location:
The Channel
All World
Country:
World
Region:
World
Crew on board:
5
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
The airplane departed RAF Dishforth at 2033LT on March 27 on an operation to Saint-Nazaire. While returning to base the following night, it came down in The Channel and sank. After spending 10 hours in their dinghy, all five crew members were rescued by a minesweeper.
Crew:
F/Sgt Grey,
F/O Whitworth,
P/O Leslie Lisle Orchard,
Sgt Shine,
Sgt Humphreys.

Crash of an Armstrong Whitworth AW.38 Whitley V off Petten: 6 killed

Date & Time: Mar 28, 1942 at 0015 LT
Type of aircraft:
Armstrong Whitworth AW.38 Whitley
Operator:
Registration:
T4166
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Military
Survivors:
Yes
Site:
Lake, Sea, Ocean, River
Schedule:
Tempsford - Tempsford
MSN:
1859
YOM:
1940
Location:
Petten
North Holland
Country:
Netherlands
Region:
Europe
Crew on board:
6
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
1
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
6
Circumstances:
The airplane departed RAF Tempsford on Operation 'Watercress', the first of a series of operations involving the dropping of Dutch agents, code named 'Nordpol Spiel' by the British and England Spiel by the Dutch. The passenger, a Dutch agent (Lt A. A. Baatsen) was parachuted some 30 km north from Zwolle and was almost immediately captured by the German. Shortly after midnight, while cruising along the Dutch coast, the airplane was shot down by a Me.110 and crashed about 500 metres offshore. All six crew members were killed.
Crew:
Sgt William Charles Evans,
P/O Robert William Franklin,
Sgt Kenneth Hailstone,
F/Sgt John Thompson,
P/O Stanley Widdup,
Sgt George Robert Wood.
Probable cause:
Shot down by a German fighter.

Crash of a Bristol 142 Blenheim IV near Crozon

Date & Time: Mar 28, 1942
Type of aircraft:
Bristol 142 Blenheim
Operator:
Registration:
Z6103
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Bombing
Survivors:
Yes
Site:
Plain, Valley
Location:
Crozon
Finistère
Country:
France
Region:
Europe
Crew on board:
3
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
For unknown reasons, the airplane crash landed near Crozon, south of Brest. All three crew members became PoW.
Crew:
Sgt Herbert Joseph Mullineaux,
Sgt Anthony George Parnell,
Sgt Arthur Thomas Price.

Crash of a Handley Page H.P.52 Hampden I off Terschelling: 4 killed

Date & Time: Mar 27, 1942 at 2321 LT
Type of aircraft:
Handley Page H.P.52 Hampden
Operator:
Registration:
AE219
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Bombing
Survivors:
No
Site:
Lake, Sea, Ocean, River
Schedule:
Balderton - Balderton
Location:
Terschelling
Friesland
Country:
Netherlands
Region:
Europe
Crew on board:
4
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
4
Circumstances:
The airplane departed RAF Balderton at 1927LT on a mine laying operation. While cruising along the Dutch coast at night, it was shot down by a Me.110 and crashed into the sea off Terschelling. All four crew members were killed.
Crew:
P/O William MacMillan Fraser, pilot,
W/O Alger Jenkins, navigator,
Sgt Arthur Frederick Trawford, wireless operator,
Sgt Herman Albert Benjamin Bird, air gunner.
Probable cause:
Shot down by a German fighter.

Crash of a Handley Page H.P.52 Hampden I off Terschelling: 4 killed

Date & Time: Mar 27, 1942 at 2242 LT
Type of aircraft:
Handley Page H.P.52 Hampden
Operator:
Registration:
AT176
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Bombing
Survivors:
No
Site:
Lake, Sea, Ocean, River
Schedule:
Balderton - Balderton
Location:
Terschelling
Friesland
Country:
Netherlands
Region:
Europe
Crew on board:
4
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
4
Circumstances:
The airplane departed RAF Balderton at 1921LT on a mine laying operation. While cruising along the Dutch coast at night, it was shot down by a Me.110 and crashed into the sea off Terschelling. All four crew members were killed.
Crew:
F/Lt William Beaumont Brown, pilot,
F/Sgt Charles Douglas Dunn, navigator,
Sgt Robert Frederick Howell, wireless operator,
Sgt Clifford Brown, air gunner.
Probable cause:
Shot down by a German fighter.

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

Date & Time: Mar 27, 1942 at 2228 LT
Type of aircraft:
Bristol 142 Blenheim
Operator:
Registration:
Z7276
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Bombing
Survivors:
No
Site:
Plain, Valley
Schedule:
West Raynham - West Raynham
Location:
Zeist
Utrecht
Country:
Netherlands
Region:
Europe
Crew on board:
3
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
3
Circumstances:
The airplane departed RAF West Raynham at 1915LT on an intruder operation over Soesterberg AFB. It was shot down by the German Flak and crashed in Zeist. All three crew members were killed.
Crew:
W/Cdr John Fraser Grant Jenkins, pilot,
F/O Henry Paul Brackner, observer,
Sgt Charles Henry Gray, wireless operator and air gunner.
Probable cause:
Shot down by the German Flak.

Crash of a Handley Page H.P.52 Hampden I off Terschelling: 4 killed

Date & Time: Mar 27, 1942 at 2210 LT
Type of aircraft:
Handley Page H.P.52 Hampden
Operator:
Registration:
L4140
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Bombing
Survivors:
No
Site:
Lake, Sea, Ocean, River
Schedule:
Balderton - Balderton
Location:
Terschelling
Friesland
Country:
Netherlands
Region:
Europe
Crew on board:
4
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
4
Circumstances:
The airplane departed RAF Balderton at 1919LT on a mine laying operation. Flying along the Dutch coast, it was shot down by a Me.110 and crashed into the sea off Terschelling. All four crew members were killed.
Crew:
P/O Gordon Findlay Beaver, pilot,
F/Sgt George Percy McLean,
Sgt Samuel Frederick Bentley,
Sgt Robert Noel Beale.
Probable cause:
Shot down by a German fighter.

Crash of a Bristol 152 Beaufort I near Rodeo: 1 killed

Date & Time: Mar 27, 1942 at 1315 LT
Type of aircraft:
Bristol 152 Beaufort
Operator:
Registration:
W6473
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Demonstration
Survivors:
Yes
Site:
Desert
Schedule:
Phoenix - Abilene
MSN:
9478
YOM:
1940
Location:
Rodeo
New Mexico
Country:
United States of America
Region:
North America
Crew on board:
4
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
1
Circumstances:
The crew was engaged in a series of demo flights in the US. En route from Phoenix to Abilene, the left engine failed and later fell off. The pilot attempted an emergency landing when the airplane crash landed in a desert area located between Rodeo and Lordsburg, bursting into flames. A crew was killed and three others were slightly injured. The airplane was destroyed by a post crash fire.
Crew:
S/L N. K. Lloyd, pilot,
F/Lt P. A. Kimpton, navigator, †
Cpl J. R. Berth-Jones, rigger,
AC1 R. West, fitter.
Probable cause:
The crankshaft of the port engine failed in flight, causing severe vibration and fire. The engine later fell off.

Crash of a Vickers 417 Wellington III in Wichmond: 6 killed

Date & Time: Mar 27, 1942 at 0010 LT
Type of aircraft:
Vickers 417 Wellington III
Operator:
Registration:
X3604
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Bombing
Survivors:
No
Site:
Plain, Valley
Schedule:
Marham - Marham
Location:
Wichmond
Gelderland
Country:
Netherlands
Region:
Europe
Crew on board:
6
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
6
Circumstances:
The airplane departed RAF Marham at 1954LT on an operation to Essen. Shortly after midnight, passing over the Netherlands, it was shot down by a German fighter and crashed in Wichmond. All six crew members were killed.
Crew:
P/O Geoffrey Gordon Soames, pilot,
Sgt Patrick Austen Gwyer Finch, pilot,
Sgt William Lionel Mogford, observer,
Sgt Victor Charles Rudkin Baker, wireless operator,
Sgt Alan Burns, wireless operator,
Sgt Roy Freak, air gunner.
Probable cause:
Shot down by a German fighter.

Crash of an Armstrong Whitworth AW.38 Whitley VII off Brest: 6 killed

Date & Time: Mar 27, 1942
Type of aircraft:
Armstrong Whitworth AW.38 Whitley
Operator:
Registration:
Z6964
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Bombing
Survivors:
No
Site:
Lake, Sea, Ocean, River
Schedule:
Thorney Island - Thorney Island
MSN:
2981
YOM:
1941
Location:
Brest
Finistère
Country:
France
Region:
Europe
Crew on board:
6
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
6
Circumstances:
The airplane departed RAF Thorney Island on an operation to Brest. Approaching the target area, it was shot down by the German Flak and crashed into the sea off Pointe des Espagnols, southwest of Brest. All six crew members were killed.
Crew:
F/O William Desmond Stuart Bow, pilot,
P/O Douglas Murray Stein, pilot,
F/O John Wheatley Goldsmith Potter, observer,
Sgt Leonard Kitchener Newman, wireless operator,
Sgt Harold Malcolm Tookey, wireless operator,
Sgt Douglas Arthur Young, wireless operator.
Probable cause:
Shot down by the German Flak.
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