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| Date: | Saturday 30 August 1941 |
| Time: | night |
| Type: | Handley Page Hampden Mk I |
| Owner/operator: | 50 Sqn RAF |
| Registration: | AD839 |
| MSN: | VN-L |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 4 / Occupants: 4 |
| Other fatalities: | 0 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | near Abbeville, Somme department, Hauts-de-France region -
 France
|
| Phase: | Combat |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | RAF Swinderby, Lincolnshire |
| RAF Swinderby, Lincolnshire |
29/30 August 1941
Mission; FRANKFURT DOCKS
Fourteen aircraft from 50 Squadron were tasked to bomb Frankfurt docks. One failed to return - Hampden AD839, which had taken off from RAF Swinderby at 21:45 hours. Crew of Hampden AD839 were:
745663 Sgt Leonard Cyril Turner, RAFVR (pilot aged 21)
1162796 Sgt. John Gordon Procter, RAF (navigator/bomb aimer aged 26)
923863 Sgt. Robert Victor Urpeth RAFVR (WOp/Air Gunner, aged 24), and
1050344 Sgt. Thomas Henry Willis,RAFVR (WOp/Air Gunner,
Two fixes were given by RAF Sealand, Cheshire, which put this aircraft over North East France. Nothing more was heard from it. Aircraft MAY have crashed near Abbeville, Somme department and in Hauts-de-France region in northern France (at approximate co ordinates: 50°06′21″N 1°50′09″E). All four crew were killed. All are buried in the Abbeville Communal Cemetery Extension, Abbeville, Somme, France.
Sources:
1. http://www.no-50-and-no-61-squadrons-association.co.uk/app/download/5802508903/50+SQUADRON+ORB+1939+1943+Revision+1.pdf
2. 50 Squadron RAF ORB (Air Ministry Form 540) for 1941: http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C2503123
3. https://www.backtonormandy.org/component/mtree/air-force-operations/airplanes-allies-and-axis-lost/hampden/36717-RAF18979.html
4. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2952734/turner,-leonard-cyril/
5. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2952692/procter,-john-gordon/
6. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2952736/urpeth,-robert-victor/
7. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2952749/willis,-thomas-henry/
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 31-Jul-2018 20:37 | Dr. John Smith | Added |
| 12-Nov-2018 20:40 | Nepa | Updated [Operator, Operator, ] |
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