Date:	Sunday 4 May 1941
Time:	03:45
Type:	Boulton Paul Defiant Mk I
Owner/operator:	255 Sqn RAF
Registration:	N3333
MSN:
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 2
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	Nocton Fen, Potterhanworth, 6 miles ESE of Lincoln, Lincolnshire. -   United Kingdom
Phase:	En route
Nature:	Military
Departure airport:	RAF Kirton-in-Lindsey, Lincolnshire
Destination airport:

Narrative:
Boulton Paul Defiant Mk I N3333/'YD-B', 255 Squadron, RAF Kirton-in-Lindsey, Lincolnshire: Took off at 03:40 hrs on 4 May 1941 for combat patrol. Engine exploded when the aircraft was at about 4,000 ft altitude. Crew parachuted to safety when the aircraft had descended to 1,500 feet, sustaining only minor bruising.

Subsequent examination of wreckage revealed bullet holes consistent with enemy action. Aircraft came down at Potterhanworth, 6 miles East South East of Lincoln, Lincolnshire. The reported wartime location given for the crash site as 'Lark Farm (or Glebe Farm), Nocton Fen' no longer exists.

Crew:
Pilot Officer (85650) Arthur Alexander 'Sandy' BALLENTINE (pilot) RAFVR - bailed out survived OK
Sgt Chris McTAGGART (Air Gunner) RAFVR - bailed out survived OK

Combat Report
4th May 1941 03.45 hrs
A Flight 255 Squadron
6 miles east south-east of Lincoln With Sgt C McTaggart as my A/G I took off from Kirton Lindsey at 03.43 hours (second sortie) on patrol and was vectored south to patrol bomber aerodromes. After about 10 minutes, when flying at 4,000 feet, about six miles E S E of Lincoln I felt two explosions in the engine accompanied by violent vibration of the A/C, and immediately flames appeared below the instrument panel and along the cowling. The A/C at once began to lose height becoming more unmanageable as it did so. I gave my A/G the order to abandon A/C and prepared to follow suit myself.
The A/G climbed out of the turret (guns to port) and dived off to port of tailplane without difficulty. The A/C was now almost out of control, diving and turning, but I managed to invert it and proceeded to bale out myself. The only difficulty occurred when my leg got caught on something, but this gave way when I pushed.

I must have been about 2,000 – 1,500 feet when I got clear of A/C. My parachute however opened almost instantly and I felt a heavy jolt as the parachute filled, this immediately being followed by a pleasant sensation of quietness and the feeling that I was not falling. I was not aware that I was near the ground until I landed with considerable force in a ploughed field on my posterior. Happily, I was uninjured, and I made my way to a nearby farm (at Potterhanworth) and aroused the occupant. This worthy took an extremely poor view of me for a time, but eventually the situation was grasped and the inevitable cup of tea produced.
My A/G also landed safely on his hands and knees (without injury except for minor bruises) and we both returned to Kirton Lindsey by transport.

Neither my A/G nor myself saw any E/A, but facts subsequently revealed would seem to establish that we were shot down by and enemy aircraft.

P/O A A Ballantine"

As the pilot reported, it was later established that the Defiant was indeed shot down. 255 Squadron’s Intelligence Officer reported:

"Plots shown 3 E/A in the vicinity at the time, 2 of which were converging on Defiant at exact time and place where explosions occurred.

Although engine buried itself 15 feet in ground a few large pieces of a/c were recognisable and on a wing there was a hole which appeared to have been caused by m/g fire. About 100 yards from the crashed plane several pieces of fairing were discovered punctured by m/g fire. Since the ammunition had been seen and heard by pilot and A/G to explode in the pit made by the crash there can be no question of these holes having been made by the Defiant’s own guns.

The Defiant was, of course, a complete write-off."

Defiant N3333 was one the aircraft the team excavated in July 2018 as part of the TV series "WW2 Treasure Hunters" - shown in the UK on the History Channel and produced by Emporium Productions. First broadcast 19 November 2018

Permission for the dig was granted by the landowners, part of the Dyson group of companies and Sir James Dyson – himself an aviation enthusiast – as well as the Ministry of Defence. Full compliance with Health and Safety, as well as Environmental Impact, Risk Assessments had to be rigidly adhered to. The excavation itself was supervised by Dr Phil Marter, Senior Lecturer in Archaeology at Winchester University.

One of the first major items discovered was the Defiant’s tailwheel and leg. This was rapidly followed by the turret and cockpit area from where two of the 303 Brownings emerged. Beneath this was the Merlin engine, which was in remarkably good condition, with two holes blasted in its casing just as it crew reported.

1. Royal Air Force Aircraft N1000-N9999 (James J Halley, Air Britain, 1977 p.20)
2. ORB 255 Squadron RAF for April 1941: National Archives (PRO Kew) File AIR 27/1518/9: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/D8437688
3. https://www.aviationarchaeology.co.uk/copy-of-lancaster-ed825-2
4. https://stephentaylorhistorian.com/2018/11/19/ww2-treasure-hunters-season-2-bolton-paul-defiant/
5. https://heritage-explorer.lincolnshire.gov.uk/Monument/MLI125522
6. https://www.ww2wrecks.com/portfolio/ww2-treasure-hunters-tv-host-and-historian-stephen-taylor-on-battlefield-and-aviation-archaeology/
7. https://www.britishnormandymemorial.org/normandy-story/sandy-arthur-alexander-ballantine-1/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No._255_Squadron_RAF#Kirton_Lindsey
8. Wing Leader Magazine Issue #1 p 27: https://www.aircraft-navalship.com/produit/wing-leader/4078
9. WW2 Treasure Hunters Series 2: (Episode 2 "Hull Blitz"): https://www.history.co.uk/shows/ww2-treasure-hunters/articles/ww2-treasure-hunters-series-2-episodes
10. https://www.bcar.org.uk/new1941-incident-logs#apr
11. https://www.key.aero/forum/historic-aviation/3838641-ww2-treasure-hunters-series-2-history-channel-from-nov-2018-two-aircraft-excavation
12. https://www.flickr.com/photos/67251416@N08/albums/72157668718027517
13. http://www.255.org.uk/old-news/2018.html
14. https://air-britain.com/pdfs/military/Crashes_in_Lincolnshire.pdf
15. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potterhanworth

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
28-Mar-2016 09:28	Nepa	Added
04-Nov-2018 14:24	chris eley	Updated [Time, Total fatalities, Other fatalities, Source, Narrative]
19-Apr-2022 16:00	Nepa	Updated [Time, Location, Departure airport, Source, Narrative, Operator]