ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 226377
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| Date: | Saturday 11 May 1940 |
| Time: | night |
| Type: |  Armstrong Whitworth Whitley B Mk V |
| Owner/operator: | 77 Sqn RAF |
| Registration: | N1366 |
| MSN: | AWA.1530 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 4 / Occupants: 5 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | near Mönchengladbach, North Rhine-Westphalia -
 Germany
|
| Phase: | Combat |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | RAF Driffield, North Yorkshire |
Armstrong Whitworth Whitley Mk.V N1366 (KN-K) of 77 Squadron, RAF: Written off on combat operations - officially described as "Whitley N1366 failed to return from an operational flight, 11 May 1940. Aircraftman 2nd Class T Jones, Leading Aircraftman T Poad, Sergeant T T Atchison and Flying Officer T H Parrott: report of deaths. Flying Officer D Blew: prisoner of war".
Took off at 20:25 hrs, from RAF Driffield, North Yorkshire with Mönchengladbach in Germany as the target. The RAF's first big attack on the German mainland was on Mönchengladbach, with 36 aircraft drawn from 18 Sqn., 49 Sqn., 51 Sqn., 58 Sqn., and 77 Sqn.
The raid was in response to the 10 May 1940 German invasion of Belgium; Mönchengladbach was bombed by British Bomber Command on the evening of 11 May. The bomber crews were attempting to interdict German troop movements on roads, intersections and rail lines in the area, especially the city's rail yards. About half of the approximately 36 twin-engine RAF bombers reportedly hit their targets, and three were shot down, including Whitley N1366. Four people were killed on the ground, including a British woman living in Germany.
N1366 went missing, and failed to return from this mission, with four of the five crew reported as "missing believed killed", and only one survived to be captured and taken as a PoW. Whitley N1366 crashed near Mönchengladbach, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. This was the first RAF bomber to crash inside Germany while carrying out a bombing operation on a target inside mainland Germany
Crew of Whitley N1366:
Aircraftman 2nd Class Tudno Jones (Wireless Op./Air Gunner, Service Number 624943, aged 20)
Leading Aircraftman Terence Poad (Wireless Operator, Service Number 551624, aged 19)
Sergeant Thomas Todd Atchison (Observer, Service Number 580497, aged 23)
Flying Officer Thomas Hayward Parrott (Pilot, Service Number 39112)
Flying Officer D. Blew (2nd Pilot)
Flying Officer D.Blew was interned in PoW Camp Stalag Luft III as PoW No.594 and retired as a Flight Lieutenant, Gazette of 26th March 1963
Sources:
1. Royal Air Force Aircraft L1000-N9999 (James J. Halley, Air Britain)
2. National Archives (PRO Kew) File AIR 81/563: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C14142088
3. https://77squadron.org.uk/history/77-squadron-history-1937-1945/
4. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2055976/jones,-tudno/
5. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2041151/poad,-terence/
6. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2036616/atchison,-thomas-todd/
7. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2040961/parrott,-thomas-hayward/
8. http://www.epibreren.com/ww2/raf/77_squadron.html#111205
9. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M%C3%B6nchengladbach#Recent_history
Rob Davis Bomber Command Losses Database
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 20-Jun-2019 22:52 | Dr. John Smith | Added |
| 21-Jun-2019 14:28 | stehlik49 | Updated [Operator] |
| 11-May-2022 06:47 | Rob Davis | Updated [Source, Narrative] |
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