ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 15886
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| Date: | Sunday 26 May 1940 |
| Time: | night |
| Type: | Handley Page Hampden Mk I |
| Owner/operator: | 144 Sqn RAF |
| Registration: | L4172 |
| MSN: | PL-L |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 3 / Occupants: 4 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | Sechtem, Bornheim, Nordrhein-Westfalen -
 Germany
|
| Phase: | Combat |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | RAF Hemswell, Lincolnshire |
| RAF Hemswell, Lincolnshire |
Handley Page Hampden Mk.1 L4172 (PL-L) of 144 Squadron, RAF. Written off (destroyed) when lost (failed to return) from combat operations on the night of 25-26 May 1940. Three of the four crew were killed, one survived to be captured and taken as a PoW. According to the official Air Ministry file into the incident (File AIR 81/8575): "Hampden L4172 crashed at Sechtem, Germany, 25/26 May 1940. Temporary Warrant Officer A E Jones - uninjured. Sergeant J A Smyth, Sergeant C Woodhouse and Corporal T Baybutt - report of deaths".
Shot down by flak/AAA, on sortie to attack rail communications in tactical support of BEF (British Expeditionary Force) on the night of 26/5/1940 in the Koln area. Aircraft came down at Sechtem, Bornheim, Nordrhein-Westfalen, at approximate co ordinates: 50°47'25 "N, 6°57'11"E.
Crew of Hampden L4172:
Sgt (580078) A.E. Jones (pilot) RAF: Survived, reportedly uninjured, captured, taken as PoW. Interned in PoW Camps 8B and Stalg Luft 1, as PoW No.13047.
Sgt (565748) John Alexander Smyth (pilot) RAF - killed in action 26/05/40.
Sgt (526291) Colin Woodhouse (Observer) RAF - killed in action 26/05/40.
Corporal (551819) Thomas Baybutt (Wireless Op/Air Gunner) RAF - killed in action 26/05/40.
All four crew fatalities were buried at Rheinberg War Cemetery, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany
Sources:
1. Royal Air Force Aircraft L1000-L9999 (James J. Halley, Air Britain, 1978 p 24)
2. National Archives (PRO Kew) File AIR 81/575: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C14502213
3. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2032845/smyth,-john-alexander/
4. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2033303/woodhouse,-colin/
5. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2042366/baybutt,-thomas/
6. https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sechtem
7. http://www.epibreren.com/ww2/raf/144_squadron.html#252605 .
History of this aircraft
Other occurrences involving this aircraft
| 3 September 1940 | P4370 | 144 Sqn RAF | 2 | between Nuth and Wijnandsrade/Laar, Limburg |  |
w/o |
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 16-Mar-2008 12:15 | JINX | Added |
| 01-Jun-2013 16:49 | Nepa | Updated [Operator, Departure airport, Destination airport, Narrative] |
| 08-Jul-2013 05:38 | JINX | Updated [Operator, Phase, Departure airport, Destination airport, Narrative] |
| 27-Nov-2014 16:00 | Tu144 | Updated [Operator, Country, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative] |
| 11-Mar-2016 15:54 | Red Dragon | Updated [Cn, Location] |
| 29-Jun-2018 19:42 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Time, Operator, Location, Destination airport, Source, Narrative] |
| 17-Oct-2018 05:33 | Nepa | Updated [Operator, Operator] |
| 16-Aug-2019 00:33 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Source, Narrative] |
| 16-Aug-2019 00:38 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Source, Narrative] |
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