Date:	Monday 27 May 1940
Time:	day
Type:	Hawker Hurricane Mk I
Owner/operator:	605 (County of Warwick) Sqn RAF
Registration:	P3581
MSN:	UP-X
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	near Bergues, Dunkerque, Nord Department, Hauts de France -   France
Phase:	Combat
Nature:	Military
Departure airport:	RAF Hawkinge, Folkestone, Kent
Destination airport:

Narrative:
Hawker Hurricane Mk.I P3581 (UP-X) 605 (County of Warwick) Squadron, RAF: Written off (destroyed) when lost (failed to return) from a combat air patrol on 27th May 1940. According to the official Air Ministry file into the incident (File AIR 81/601): "Hurricane P3581 crashed near Bergues, France, 27 May 1940. Flying Officer P J Danielsen - missing presumed dead"

According to the official 605 (County of Warwick) Squadron history for this period:

"Another patrol was flown during the afternoon, this time with 17 Squadron, and were overrun by an overwhelming force of some 50 Me 109s and 110s after first engaging six Dornier 17s. 605 suffered two fatal casualties during this attack losing Pete Danielson and the C.O., George Perry, both men being later remembered on the Runnymede Memorial".

Flying Officer Peter John Danielson (in Hurricane P3581) was on patrol over Calais-St Omer with another pilot of 605 Squadron, Squadron Leader G V Perry (in Hurricane P3423) and both were a part of a patrol with 17 Squadron. Both aircraft from 605 Squadron were shot down by fighters. Both pilots have no known grave.

Crew of Hurricane P3581
Pilot: Flying Officer Peter John Danielsen, RAF (AAF) 90248, age 26, posted 27/05/1940, missing in action

As no trace of Hurricane P3581 or its pilot was ever found, he is commemorated on the Runnymede Memorial. The reported crash location of Bergues is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. It is situated 9 kilometres (5.6 miles) to the south of Dunkirk and 15 kilometres (9.3 miles) from the Belgian border, at approximate Coordinates: 50°58′09″N 2°26′06″E

1. Royal Air Force Aircraft P1000-P9999 (James J Halley, Air Britain, 1978 p 21)
2. National Archives (PRO Kew) File AIR 81/601: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C14502293
3. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/231783/danielsen,-peter-john/
4. Royal Air Force Fighter Command losses of the Second World War. Volume 1 Operational Losses: Aircraft and Crews 1939-1941 Page 34.
5. http://www.epibreren.com/ww2/raf/605_squadron.html#1705
6. http://francecrashes39-45.net/page_fiche_av.php?id=7232
7. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bergues
8. http://www.605squadron.co.uk/We%20Never%20Slept%20-%20The%20Story%20of%20605%20Squadron.pdf

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
17-Jan-2011 13:44	ThW	Added
04-Jan-2012 14:47	Nepa	Updated [Aircraft type, Operator]
18-Jan-2012 06:40	Nepa	Updated [Registration, Operator, Location, Narrative]
11-Mar-2016 15:54	Red Dragon	Updated [Date, Time, Registration, Location, Source, Narrative]
10-Aug-2019 20:03	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Date, Time, Cn, Location, Country, Departure airport, Source, Narrative]
10-Aug-2019 20:23	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Location, Source, Narrative]
20-Aug-2019 18:53	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Date, Source, Narrative]