ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 19850
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| Date: | Monday 22 July 1940 |
| Time: | night |
| Type: |  Bristol Blenheim Mk I |
| Owner/operator: | 211 Sqn RAF |
| Registration: | L6661 |
| MSN: | UO-D |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 3 / Occupants: 3 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | Mediterranean Sea, off coast of Libya -
 Libya
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | LG-020 RAF Qotafiyah I, Sanyet Turbiya, Egypt |
Blenheim L6661/D: Written off (presumed destroyed) when lost (Failed To Return) from combat operations. All three crew similarly posted as "missing believed killed". According to the official Air Ministry file into the incident (File AIR 81/1183): "Blenheim L6661 lost in air operations over Libya, 23 July 1940. Sergeant G B Smith and Sergeant R A Steele: missing presumed dead. Sergeant G A Sewell: report of death"
Blenheim L6661: Took off at 21:30 hrs to bomb El Adem, Libya. 22/07/1940
The plane lost without trace on night raid on El Adem. Of the three crew, only one - Sgt G A Sewell’s - body was recovered, washed ashore on the coast of Libya. (Which implies that Blenheim L6661 crashed into the Mediterranean Sea, off coast of Libya).
Crew:
Sgt (563381) George Bartle SMITH (pilot) RAF - missing, presumed killed
Sgt (751178) Reginald Alfred STEELE (Obs.) RAFVR - missing, presumed killed
Sgt (530961) George Aidan SEWELL (WOp/AG) RAF - killed
Sources:
1. Royal Air Force Aircraft L1000-L9999 (James J Halley, Air Britain, 1978)
2. National Archives (PRO Kew) File AIR 81/1183: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C14503122
3. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/1282570/smith,-george-bartle/
4. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/1282652/steele,-reginald-alfred/
5. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2211849/sewell,-george-aidan/
6. http://www.211squadron.org/bristol_blenheim_i.html
7. http://www.oldhaltonians.co.uk/pages/rememb/ROH/19.htm
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 23-May-2008 18:16 | JINX | Added |
| 15-Dec-2014 19:46 | Paco | Updated [Operator, Location, Narrative] |
| 26-Sep-2018 10:37 | Nepa | Updated [Operator, Operator] |
| 13-Oct-2019 18:11 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Time, Cn, Operator, Location, Country, Departure airport, Source, Narrative] |
| 13-Oct-2019 18:12 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Narrative] |
| 15-Oct-2019 07:32 | juza7 | Updated [Operator] |
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