Date:	Sunday 26 May 1940
Time:	night
Type:	Handley Page Hampden Mk I
Owner/operator:	144 Sqn RAF
Registration:	L4172
MSN:	PL-L
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 3 / Occupants: 4
Other fatalities:	0
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	Sechtem, Bornheim, Nordrhein-Westfalen -   Germany
Phase:	Combat
Nature:	Military
Departure airport:	RAF Hemswell, Lincolnshire
Destination airport:	RAF Hemswell, Lincolnshire

Narrative:
Handley Page Hampden Mk.1 L4172 (PL-L) of 144 Squadron, RAF. Written off (destroyed) when lost (failed to return) from combat operations on the night of 25-26 May 1940. Three of the four crew were killed, one survived to be captured and taken as a PoW. According to the official Air Ministry file into the incident (File AIR 81/8575): "Hampden L4172 crashed at Sechtem, Germany, 25/26 May 1940. Temporary Warrant Officer A E Jones - uninjured. Sergeant J A Smyth, Sergeant C Woodhouse and Corporal T Baybutt - report of deaths".

Shot down by flak/AAA, on sortie to attack rail communications in tactical support of BEF (British Expeditionary Force) on the night of 26/5/1940 in the Koln area. Aircraft came down at Sechtem, Bornheim, Nordrhein-Westfalen, at approximate co ordinates: 50°47'25 "N, 6°57'11"E.

Crew of Hampden L4172:
Sgt (580078) Alfred Ernest Jones (pilot) RAF: Survived, reportedly uninjured, captured, taken as PoW. Interned in PoW Camps 8B and Stalg Luft 1, as PoW No.13047.
Sgt (565748) John Alexander Smyth (pilot) RAF - killed in action 26/05/40. Date of dead according to CWGC: 25 may 1940.
Sgt (526291) Colin Woodhouse (Observer) RAF - killed in action 26/05/40. Date of dead according to CWGC: 25 may 1940.
Corporal (551819) Thomas Baybutt (Wireless Op/Air Gunner) RAF - killed in action 26/05/40. Date of dead according to CWGC: 25 may 1940.

All three fatalities were buried at Rheinberg War Cemetery, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany

1. Royal Air Force Aircraft L1000-L9999 (James J. Halley, Air Britain, 1978 p 24)
2. National Archives (PRO Kew) File AIR 81/575: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C14502213
3. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2032845/smyth,-john-alexander/
4. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2033303/woodhouse,-colin/
5. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2042366/baybutt,-thomas/
6. https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sechtem
7. http://www.epibreren.com/ww2/raf/144_squadron.html#252605 .
8. Rob Davis Bomber Command Losses Database
9. CWGC

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
16-Mar-2008 12:15	JINX	Added
01-Jun-2013 16:49	Nepa	Updated [Operator, Departure airport, Destination airport, Narrative, ]
08-Jul-2013 05:38	JINX	Updated [Operator, Phase, Departure airport, Destination airport, Narrative, ]
27-Nov-2014 16:00	Tu144	Updated [Operator, Country, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative, ]
11-Mar-2016 15:54	Red Dragon	Updated [Cn, Location, ]
29-Jun-2018 19:42	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Time, Operator, Location, Destination airport, Source, Narrative, ]
17-Oct-2018 05:33	Nepa	Updated [Operator, Operator, ]
16-Aug-2019 00:33	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Source, Narrative, ]
16-Aug-2019 00:38	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Source, Narrative, ]
19-May-2024 06:40	Rob Davis	Updated [Source, Narrative, ]
26-Jul-2025 10:36	Anon.	Updated [Source, Narrative, ]