ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 227775
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| Date: | Sunday 19 May 1940 |
| Time: | day |
| Type: |  De Havilland DH.82 Tiger Moth |
| Owner/operator: | 81 Sqn RAF |
| Registration: | N9448 |
| MSN: | 82502 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | Pérrone airfield, Somme department in Hauts-de-France -
 France
|
| Phase: | Landing |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | Arras, Pas de Calais, France |
| Pérrone airfield, Somme, France (LFAG) |
DeHavilland DH.82A Tiger Moth MSN 82502 (Gipsy Major #82557): Taken on charge as N9448 at 6 MU RAF Brize Norton 20.11.39. To 81 Squadron, Amiens/Montjoie, France 4.5.40. Officially Struck off charge as 'lost in France' 20.5.40; however, see the story below..
Written off (destroyed) when landed at Perrone Airfield, France, just after the airfield had been captured by enemy forces. Pilot Officer Peter Vivian Lockett (RAF 41038) became a PoW on 19.5.40: Peter was taken PoW (PoW No.408) and held at Stalag Luft III in Poland after landing his Tiger Moth N9448 at Pérrone airfield which had just been occupied by the Germans.
According to the official Air Ministry file on the incident (File AIR 81/481): "Tiger Moth N9448 crashed at Peronne, France, 20 May 1940 [*sic]. Pilot Officer P V Lockett: prisoner of war".
Peter Lockett was a pilot with No. 81 Squadron RAF BEF (British Expeditionary Force) in France during 1940. Reformed from the Communication Squadron at Mountjoie in France on 1st December 1939, 81 Squadron, RAF flew Tiger Moths on communications and training duties until the German invasion necessitated its withdrawal back to Britain, where it disbanded on 15th June 1940. According to "Wings Day: the man who led the RAF's epic battle in German captivity" (Sydney Smith, 1968):
"All the British were aircrew and had been shot out of the sky, or crashed through enemy action, or had landed on RAF airfields in France and found they were occupied by Germans — like young Peter Lockett, an Arras HQ Communications pilot. He was sent with a message to Peronne between Amiens and Rheims. He landed, taxied to the control-tower and was bawling out the ground crew for not holding his wingtips when he found they were Luftwaffe."
A bit of googling suggests that the Peronne area was captured by XIX Panzer Korps around May 19th to 21st 1940. Peter V Lockett was POW number 408 and held at Stalag Luft 3 and his brother (Squadron Leader C.E.S. Lockett) was POW number 409 and held at Oflag 4 C Saalhaus Colditz. Apparently, when in captivity, Peter Lockett was a persistent escapee from PoW camps, and ended up in the famous/notorious PoW Camp Oflag IVc at Colditz Castle.
Sources:
1. Royal Air Force Aircraft N1000-N9999 (James J Halley, Air Britain, 1977 p 55)
2. National Archives (PRO Kew) File AIR 81/482: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C14502184
3. http://francecrashes39-45.net/page_fiche_av.php?id=7312
4. http://www.rafcommands.com/forum/showthread.php?9246&p=53949#53949
5. http://www.airhistory.org.uk/dh/p825.html
6. https://air-britain.com/pdfs/production-lists/DH82.pdf
7. http://www.airhistory.org.uk/dh/p825.html
8. http://www.rafcommands.com/forum/showthread.php?9246-Pilot-Officer-Peter-Lockett-P-O-W-1940
9. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/P%C3%A9ronne,_Somme
10. htps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peronne-St_Quentin_Airport#German_use_during_World_War_II
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 01-Aug-2019 00:12 | Dr. John Smith | Added |
| 01-Aug-2019 11:15 | stehlik49 | Updated [Operator] |
| 03-Aug-2021 23:48 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Destination airport, Source, Narrative, Category] |
| 03-Aug-2021 23:52 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Source, Narrative] |
| 17-Feb-2022 20:44 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Source, Narrative] |
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