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Date: | Tuesday 21 May 1940 |
Time: | day |
Type: | Westland Lysander Mk II |
Owner/operator: | 13 Sqn RAF |
Registration: | L4812 |
MSN: | OO-P |
Fatalities: | Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 2 |
Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
Location: | St. Martin-au-Laërt, near St. Omer -
France
|
Phase: | Combat |
Nature: | Military |
Departure airport: | Clairmarais Airfield, Pas-de-Calais, near St. Omer, France |
Destination airport: | |
Narrative:Lysander "OO-P" of A Flight, 13 Squadron, RAF. Operation: Liasion flight on 21 May 1940. Both crew killed. Accoarding to the official Air Ministry file into the incident (File AIR 81/697): "Lysander L4812 shot down near St Omer, France, 21 May 1940. Pilot Officer R E C Butterworth and Flight Lieutenant R H N Graham: report of deaths".
Crew of Lysander L4812:
Flight Lieutenant (pilot) Richard Hatt Noble Graham (RAF 25066, aged 32) RAF, killed in action 25/05/40
Pilot Officer (Wireless Op/Air Gunner) Reginald Edmund Compton Butterworth (RAF 77531, aged 33) RAFVR, killed in action 21/05/40
Took off from Clairmarais Airfield, Pas-de-Calais, near St. Omer, France. Shot down over St. Omer and crashed in St. Martin-au-Laërt. Both crew killed, and were buried at St. Martin-au-Laert Churchyard, near St Omer, France
St. Martin-au-Laërt is a village on the outskirts of St. Omer, about 50 kilometres east of Boulogne by road, at the junction of the Boulogne-St.Omer and Calais-St.Omer roads. It is easily reached from St. Omer. West of the church and about 9 metres from the Crucifix at the end of the main path, are the graves of one soldier and two airmen belonging to the UK forces.
Sources:
1. Peter D. Cornwell, The Battle of France, Then and Now, 2008
2.
http://www.epibreren.com/ww2/raf/13_squadron.html#2105 3.
https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2280632/graham,-richard-hatt-noble/ 4.
https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2280630/butterworth,-reginald-edmund-compton/ 5.
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/50637379 6.
https://www.ww2cemeteries.com/st-martin-au-laert-churchyard.html 7.
http://www.thepeerage.com/p67548.htm#i675478 8.
https://www.tracesofwar.com/sights/42507/Commonwealth-War-Graves-St-Martin-au-La%C3%ABrt.htm 9.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reginald_Butterworth 10.
https://www.chch.ox.ac.uk/fallen-alumni/pilot-officer-reginald-edmund-compton-butterworth 11.
http://francecrashes39-45.net/page_fiche_av.php?id=5241 12. National Archives (PRO Kew) File AIR 81/697:
https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C14502361 Revision history:
Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
22-Jun-2011 13:26 |
ThW |
Added |
19-Jun-2013 10:51 |
Nepa |
Updated [Aircraft type, Registration, Operator, Narrative] |
19-May-2019 23:46 |
Dr. John Smith |
Updated [Registration, Cn, Other fatalities, Location, Departure airport, Source, Narrative] |
30-Jul-2019 20:03 |
Dr. John Smith |
Updated [Time, Registration, Source, Narrative] |
01-Sep-2019 01:33 |
Dr. John Smith |
Updated [Source, Narrative] |