Date:	Tuesday 4 January 1944
Time:	10:50
Type:	Hawker Typhoon Mk IB
Owner/operator:	245 (Northern Rhodesia) Sqn RAF
Registration:	JR238
MSN:
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	3 km northwest of Brutelles, Somme -   France
Phase:	En route
Nature:	Military
Departure airport:
Destination airport:

Narrative:
On 4 January 1944 the RAF launched nine Ramrod missions from England, two to escorts American bombers on their departure and return from Germany and the others all against No-Ball (V-1 launching sites) targets. The RAF losses for the day were 4 Spitfires, 3 Typhoons and 2 Mosquitoes.

Ramrod 417 was one of the missions directed against No-Ball sites during the morning. During this mission the engine of the Typhoon Ib JR238 flown by Flg Off Kenneth William Sim of 245 Sqn failed while he was one mile off the French coast and he crash-landed at around 1050 hrs on mud-flats 3 km northwest of Brutelles, between Ault (Somme) and Cayeux-sur-Mer.

He was quickly helped and evaded capture. Next day he was taken to nearby Brutelles. The following evening he was taken by bicycle to Friville-Escarbotin. On 29 January, he was taken by train to Abbeville then driven to Maison Ponthieu. Next day he was walked to Gueschart where he stayed until 11 February when he was moved to Boufflers. Next day two Frenchmen collected him in a lorry, and after picking up two other airmen from Auxi-le-Chateau, delivered them to Mme Vignon in Amiens where Sim stayed until 17 April. On this date he and nine other Allied airmen were taken by Joe Balfe to Amiens station and on to Paris where they were passed on to the Bourgogne organization. Two members of the group were arrested at Paris along with their hosts on 28 April. The rest of the airmen joined two more American evaders and were taken across the Pyrenees, arriving Spain on 8 May 1944. Sim reached back Great Britain on 5 June.

http://francecrashes39-45.net/page_fiche_av.php?id=5273
http://www.conscript-heroes.com/escapelines/EEIE-Articles/Art-12-Balfe.htm
"2nd Tactical Air Force. Volume One: Spartan to Normandy. June 1943 to June 1944", by Christopher Shores and Chris Thomas. ISBN 1-903223-40-7
"Fighter Command War Diaries Volume Four: July 1943 to June 1944", by John Foreman. ISBN 1-871187-43-5
https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brutelles
http://www.maplandia.com/france/picardie/somme/abbeville/brutelles/

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
22-Nov-2018 10:02	Laurent Rizzotti	Added
27-Nov-2019 10:54	Nepa	Updated [Operator, Operator]