Date:	Monday 25 August 1941
Time:	08:25
Type:	Bristol Blenheim Mk IV
Owner/operator:	14 Sqn RAF
Registration:	V5444
MSN:
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 3
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	near Elanjar -   Iraq
Phase:	En route
Nature:	Military
Departure airport:	Qaiyara
Destination airport:

Narrative:
The Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran started on 25 August 1941. On this day a formation 11 Blenheim of 14 Sqn RAF took off at 0750 hrs from Qaiyara, Iraq, to drop leaflets on Teheran. Owing to the long-range flight, weak mixture had to be used by the aircraft, and this was the cause of engines cutting in three aircraft before the target was reached. Two, V5925 and T6231, returned to base but the third, the Blenheim IV V5444, crash-landed at 0825 hrs in a wadi near Elanjar, just inside the Iraq border. The three crew (Sqn Ldr David Milledge Illsley (pilot), Sgt John Henry Hibbert (observer) and Plt Off Edward Burdon DFC) were unhurt but the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.

The eight aircraft that reached Teheran dropped 60,000 leaflets over centre and SE of town, without encountering any opposition by AA fire or fighters.

ORB of 14 Sqn RAF, August 1941 (AIR 27/193-13 and AIR 27/193-14)
"Royal Air Force Bomber Losses in the Middle East and Mediterranean. Volume 1: 1939-1942", by David Gunby and Pelham Temple. ISBN 978-1-85780-234-4, page 80
"The Bristol Blenheim: A Complete History", by Graham Warner, ISBN 0-85979-101-7, page 466
https://www.rafcommands.com/forum/showthread.php?20325-Vickers-Valentia-31-Squadron-Iran-26-8-1941

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
19-Sep-2023 04:01	Laurent Rizzotti	Updated