ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 226318
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| Date: | Saturday 11 May 1940 |
| Time: | 10:20 LT |
| Type: |  Bristol Blenheim Mk I |
| Owner/operator: | 18 Sqn RAF |
| Registration: | L1405 |
| MSN: | WV-K |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 3 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | Breyell, Nettetal, district of Viersen in North Rhine-Westphalia -
 Germany
|
| Phase: | Combat |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | Méharicourt, France |
Brsitol Blenheim Mk.1 L1405 (WV-K) of 18 Squadron, RAF: Lost on combat operations - officially described as "Blenheim L1405 crashed near Wesel, Germany, 11 May 1940". Airborne 09:15 hrs from Méharicourt, France. Failed to return from low-level reconnaissance of the river Maas to Venlo. Believed crashed at Breyell, 10.20 hrs. (Breyell is a district of Nettetal in the district of Viersen in North Rhine-Westphalia at approximate Coordinates: 51°17'44"N, 6° 15'8"E).
Possibly the aircraft claimed as shot down by Oberlt Steinhoff (Staffelkapitän) of 11.(N)/JG 2 near Düsseldorf. Of the crew of three, two were killed, and one was captured, taken as a PoW, and died in captivity
Crew of Blenheim L1405:
Pilot Officer (Pilot) Geoffrey Fawconer Harding, RAF 33438, aged 21, killed in action 11/05/1940, buried at Reichswald Forest War Cemetery, Germany
Sergeant (Wireless Op/Observer) Kenneth Norman Shrosbree, RAF 516530, aged 25, killed in action 11/05/1940, buried at Reichswald Forest War Cemetery, Germany
LAC Roland Brainerd Herbert Townsend-Coles, RAF 625503 - Survived, captured, taken as POW (but see below)
The CWGC list as date of death for Pilot Officer Harding and Sgt Shrosbree as 11/05/1940, although some sources state that Blenheim L1405 crashed the day before.
Leading Aircraftman Roland B.H. Townsend-Coles, who was promoted to Warrant Officer whilst a PoW, is reported to have died in captivity. He has no known grave and is commemorated on the Runnymede Memorial. Townsend-Coles was interned in Camps L1/L6. There is a report that, in fact, he was murdered 15/07/1944 by the Gestapo after making an escape from Camp L6, on 03/04/1944. He was aged 30 at the time
Sources:
1. Royal Air Force Aircraft L1000-L9999 (James J Halley, Air Britain, 1978 p 9)
2. National Archives (PRO Kew) File AIR 81/242: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C14142067
3. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2031933/harding,-geoffrey-fawconer/
4. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2041896/shrosbree,-kenneth-norman/
5. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/1808967/townsend-coles,-roland-brainerd-herbert/
6. http://ww2talk.com/index.php?threads/raf-losses-may-1940-an-update.16940/page-3#post-194935
7. http://www.rafcommands.com/archive/08374.php
8. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/15264999/roland-townsend_coles
9. https://internationalbcc.co.uk/losses/townsend-coles-rbh/
10. https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breyell
History of this aircraft
Other occurrences involving this aircraft
| 25 February 1940 | L1444 | 18 Sqn RAF | 1 | Donna Nook Bombing Range, East Lindsey, Lincolnshire, England |  |
w/o |
| 16 June 1941 | V6512 | 18 Sqn RAF | 3 | North Sea, off Hoek van Holland, Zuid-Holland |  |
w/o |
| 23 July 1941 | R3666 | 18 Sqn RAF | 3 | North Sea off Camperduin, Noord-Holland | |
w/o |
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 18-Jun-2019 21:05 | Dr. John Smith | Added |
| 21-Jun-2019 10:51 | stehlik49 | Updated [Operator] |
| 11-Jul-2019 22:43 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Damage] |
| 26-Oct-2021 08:50 | Rob Davis | Updated [Narrative] |
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