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Date: | Friday 21 June 1940 |
Time: | day |
Type: | Bristol Bombay Mk I |
Owner/operator: | 216 Sqn RAF |
Registration: | L5850 |
MSN: | SH.42 |
Fatalities: | Fatalities: 4 / Occupants: 5 |
Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
Location: | Libyan Desert, en route to el-Gubbi, east of Tobruk -
Libya
|
Phase: | En route |
Nature: | Military |
Departure airport: | El Daba, Libya |
Destination airport: | El Gubbi, Libya |
Narrative:Bristol Bombay Mk.1 L5850 (SH-N) 216 Squadron, RAF. Written off (destroyed) when crashed in the Libyan Desert on 21 June 1940. Four of the five on board were killed, one became a PoW. According to the official Air Ministry file into the incident (File AIR 81/969): "Bombay L5850 crashed at Tobruk, Libya, 21 June 1940. Temporary Warrant Officer N P Donnelly: prisoner of war. Sergeant B T M Baker, Corporal W C Royle, Leading Aircraftman A F Crohill and Flight Lieutenant J B W Smith: report of deaths
Written off (missing presumed crashed and destroyed) 21.6.40: The aircraft crashed in unknown circumstances in the Libyan desert while on its way to el-Gubbi, east of Tobruk. Warrant Officer N. P. Donnelly survived and became a PoW while four other occupants were killed.
Crew:
Flight Sergeant (Pilot) Benjamin T.M. Baker, RAF 563729, age 27 - killed on active service 21/06/1940
Leading Aircraftman Alfred F. Crohill, RAF 518932 - killed on active service 21/06/1940
Corporal (W. Op./U/T. Air Gnr) William C. Royle, RAF 518637, age 23 - killed on active service 21/06/1940
Flight Lieutenant (Pilot) John B.W. Smith, RAF 37214 - killed on active service 21/06/1940
Temporary Warrant Officer N P Donnelly - POW
The four fatalites were all buried at Knightsbridge War Cemetery, Acroma, Libya
Sources:
1. Royal Air Force Aircraft L1000-L9999 (James J. Halley, Air Britain, 1978)
2. National Archives (PRO Kew) File AIR 81/969:
https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C14502420 3. A History of the Mediterranean Air War 1940–1945: North Africa By Christopher Shores, Giovanni Massimello, Russell Guest
4.
http://www.epibreren.com/ww2/raf/216_squadron.html 5.
https://www.baaa-acro.com/crash/crash-bristol-130-bombay-i-libya-4-killed 6.
https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2096002/baker,-benjamin-thomas-morgan/ 7.
https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2096442/crohill,-alfred-francis/ 8.
https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2383054/royle,-william-charles/ 9.
https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2383204/smith,-john-basil-wentworth/ 10.
http://www.rafcommands.com/forum/showthread.php?1047-Unaccounted-members-500-Sqdn-June-1940 Revision history:
Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
30-Mar-2008 23:02 |
JINX |
Added |
10-Jul-2015 19:52 |
Faun |
Updated [Operator, Narrative] |
22-Jan-2016 07:06 |
Anon. |
Updated [Total occupants, Source, Narrative] |
18-Apr-2019 19:07 |
Dr. John Smith |
Updated [Time, Location, Departure airport, Source, Narrative] |
19-Apr-2019 17:46 |
Dr. John Smith |
Updated [Cn] |
01-Oct-2019 22:15 |
Dr. John Smith |
Updated [Location, Destination airport, Source, Narrative] |