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| Date: | Sunday 2 June 1940 |
| Time: | 17:00 LT |
| Type: | Handley Page Hampden Mk I |
| Owner/operator: | 16 OTU RAF |
| Registration: | P1179 |
| MSN: | |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1 |
| Other fatalities: | 0 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | RAF Upper Heyford, Oxfordshire, England -
 United Kingdom
|
| Phase: | Take off |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | RAF Upper Heyford, Oxfordshire |
Handley Page Hampden Mk.I P1179 of 16 OTU RAF Upper Heyford, Oxfordshire. Written off (destroyed) 2/6/1940 when took off at 17.00 hours from Upper Heyford for the pilot's first Hampden solo flight. While banking to the left the aircraft flew into a tree and burst into flames. The pilot (the sole person on board) was killed:
Pilot: 42444 Pilot Officer Basil Simpson, RAF (Age 22) (Commission Gazetted : Friday 26 April, 1940)
He lies at the Sec B Grave 39 at Upper Heyford Cemetery, United Kingdom (51.949405 / -1.281287)
Sources:
1. Air-Britain: Royal Air Force Aircraft P1000-R9999
2. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2421973/simpson,-basil/
3. http://www.theygavetheirtoday.com/raf-upper-heyford.html
4. http://www.epibreren.com/ww2/raf/16_OTU.html
5. Rob Davis Bomber Command Losses Database
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 07-Jul-2013 17:13 | JINX | Added |
| 07-Jul-2013 17:16 | JINX | Updated [Aircraft type, ] |
| 06-Jun-2015 10:32 | King | Updated [Operator, Location, Departure airport, ] |
| 14-Jul-2018 23:03 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Time, Total fatalities, Total occupants, Other fatalities, Source, Narrative, ] |
| 09-Jul-2023 21:53 | Nepa | Updated |
| 22-May-2024 12:17 | Rob Davis | Updated [Source, Narrative, ] |
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