Date:	Saturday 26 June 1943
Time:	01:00
Type:	Boulton Paul Defiant Mk II
Owner/operator:	515 Sqn RAF
Registration:	AA572
MSN:	3P-
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 2
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	North Sea west of Westkapelle, Zeeland -   Netherlands
Phase:	Combat
Nature:	Military
Departure airport:	RAF Hunsdon, Hertfordshire
Destination airport:

Narrative:
Boulton Paul Defiant Mk.II DR572, 515 Squadron, RAF Hunsdon. Lost on combat operations (radar jamming) on 26 June 1943, Takeoff at 23:30 for a "Mandrel screen" sortie (airborne radar jamming in support of the raid on Gelsenkirchen by RAF Bomber Command). Shot down by night fighter pilot Oberleutnant Heinz-Martin Hadeball of the 12./NJG 4 (detached to 2./NJG 1), flying a Bf 110 G-4 from Gilze-Rijen airfield. Defiant AA572 came down into the North Sea west of Westkapelle, Zeeland, Netherlands. Both crew killed.

Crew:
Pilot Officer Leonard Arthur JOHNSON (143776) Air Gunner, aged 31: killed on active service 26 June 1943, buried at Amsterdam New eastern Cemetery, Amsterdam, Netherlands
Flying Officer Arthur Buckby SINTON (119279) Pilot, aged 27: killed on active service 26 June 1943, body not found or not recovered. Commemorated on the Runnymede Memorial

Westkapelle is a small city in the municipality of Veere on the island Walcheren, in the province Zeeland of the Netherlands. Westkapelle is on the westernmost tip of Walcheren and is surrounded by the sea on three sides

1. Nachtjagd Combat Archive 1943 part two
2. Royal Air Force Aircraft AA100-AZ999 (James J Halley, Air Britain)
3. https://verliesregister.studiegroepluchtoorlog.nl/rs.php?aircraft=&sglo=&date=&location=&pn=AA572&unit=&name=&cemetry=&airforce=&target=&area=&airfield=
4. https://www.oorlogsslachtofferszeeland.nl/index.php/nl/?option=com_bmzviewer&view=bmzviewer&id=200&lang=&RecordID=589
5. CWGC: https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/2619616/leonard-arthur-johnson/
6. CWGC: https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/1807232/arthur-buckby-sinton/
7. https://barryniblock.co.uk/world-war-two-war-dead/names-listed-alphabetically-by-surname/sadd-to-sloss/sinton-arthur-buckby-no-119279/
8. https://db.wingstovictory.nl/database_detail-du.php?wtv_id=286
9. http://www.rafcommands.com/database/serials/details.php?uniq=AA572
10. Combat Report (mixed English/Dutch text): https://db.wingstovictory.nl/pdf/286-story.pdf
11. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Westkapelle,_Netherlands#Second_World_War
12. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No._515_Squadron_RAF#Mandrel

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
17-Dec-2008 11:45	ASN archive	Added
17-Apr-2011 22:52	angels one five	Updated [Time, Operator, Location, Phase, Narrative]
30-Dec-2011 09:10	Nepa	Updated [Time, Aircraft type, Operator, Phase]
28-Dec-2018 18:51	TigerTimon	Updated [Cn, Total fatalities, Total occupants, Location, Phase, Departure airport, Source, Narrative]