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| Date: | Sunday 1 October 1939 |
| Time: | 14:10 |
| Type: |  Bristol Blenheim Mk IV |
| Owner/operator: | 139 Sqn RAF |
| Registration: | N6231 |
| MSN: | XD-D |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 3 |
| Other fatalities: | 0 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | between Glissen and Westenfeld, 5 km north of Petershagen -
 Germany
|
| Phase: | Combat |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | RAF Wyton, Huntingdonshire |
Blenheim N6231/D:Took off at 09:58 hrs for a daylight reconnaissance sortie of Hanover on 01/10/1939.
Shot down over Petershagen, Minden-Lübbecke district, in North Rhine-Westphalia, near Hanover, Germany.
(At approximate coordinates: 52°23'N 8°58'E). Shot down over Bad Driberg, east of Paderborn, by Oblt. Walter Adolph of 2./JG 1 during a daylight reconnaissance sortie over north-west Germany at 14:10 hrs.
Crew:
F/O (37952) Alan Colin MACLACHLAN (pilot) RAF bailed out /injured and POW.
AC.2 (54713) Ronald Victor BRITTON (WOp/AG) RAF - killed in action
Sgt (562022) William BROWN (Obs.) RAF - killed in action
BROWN and BRITTON are buried at Hanover War Cemetery, Germany.
According to some published sources: "Shot down on 1st October 1939 during a reconnaissance flight over Germany by the Oblt Walter Adolph of 2./JG 1, claimed as his first victory of WWII. The Blenheim crashed between Glissen and Westenfeld, 5 km North of Petershagen, so roughly 75 km north of Hanover."
Sources:
1. Royal Air Force Aircraft L1000-N9999 (James J Halley, Air Britain)
2. National Archives (PRO Kew) File AIR 81/25: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C14142108
3. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2198281/brown,-william/
4. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2198264/britton,-ronald-victor/
5. http://www.oldhaltonians.co.uk/pages/rememb/ROH/17.htm
6. http://forum.12oclockhigh.net/showthread.php?t=22306
7. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petershagen
History of this aircraft
Other occurrences involving this aircraft
| 2 August 1940 | L8780 | 139 (Jamaica) Sqn RAF | 0 | RAF Thorney Island, Hampshire, England |  |
min |
| 18 May 1941 | L9413 | 139 (Jamaica) Sqn RAF | 5 | Acle,11 miles east of Norwich, Norfolk, England | |
w/o |
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 02-Jun-2019 20:48 | Dr. John Smith | Added |
| 02-Jun-2019 20:48 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Narrative, ] |
| 03-Jun-2019 09:37 | stehlik49 | Updated [Operator, ] |
| 20-Jul-2024 09:57 | Nepa | Updated [Time, Narrative, Operator, ] |
| 20-Jul-2024 10:11 | Nepa | Updated [Narrative, Operator, ] |
| 20-Jul-2024 10:38 | Nepa | Updated [Operator, ] |
| 11-Jul-2025 08:55 | MMR | Updated [Narrative, ] |
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