ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 228187
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| Date: | Saturday 25 May 1940 |
| Time: | 12:30 LT |
| Type: |  Bristol Blenheim Mk IV |
| Owner/operator: | 40 Sqn RAF |
| Registration: | P4920 |
| MSN: | BL-N |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 3 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | near Rety, 5 km ESE of Marquise, Pas de Calais -
 France
|
| Phase: | Manoeuvring (airshow, firefighting, ag.ops.) |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | RAF Wyton, Huntingdonshire |
Bristol Blenheim Mk.IV P4920 (BL-N) 40 Squadron, RAF: Written off (destroyed) when lost (failed to return) from a combat operation over northern France on 25 May 1940. Of the three crew, two were killed, and one survived to be captured and taken as a PoW. According to the official Air Ministry File into the incident (File AIR 81/562): "Sergeant S I Tonks: prisoner of war. Sergeant J L Alexander and Leading Aircraftman D Goffe: report of deaths; Blenheim L4920, 25 May 1940".
Blenheim P4920 was airborne at 10:27 from RAF Wyton, Huntingdonshire; Part of a 24 aircraft sortie to seek out targets in the Rety-Fiennes-Guines triangle. Shot down near Rety (Pas-de-Calais), 5 km ESE of Marquise, France. As stated above, two crew killed, one became a PoW.
Claim by Lt Erwin Axthelm 2./JG 27 - westl. Calais at 12:35L.
Crew of Blenheim P4920
Sgt S I Tonks (Pilot, RAF 565814); survived, captured taken as PoW. Interned in PoW Camp 357, as PoW No.31113.
Sergeant (Observer) Jack L. Alexander, RAF 562397, age 28, killed in action 25/05/1940
Leading Aircraftman (Wireless Op/Air Gunner) Dennis Goffe, RAF 551547, age 20, killed in action 25/05/1940,
Both crew fatalities were buried at Rety Communal Cemetery, Pas de Calais, France. The reported crash location of Rety is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region of France at approximate Coordinates: 50°47′53″N 1°46′32″E
Note that the official Air Ministry file into the incident (File AIR 81/562) attributes Blenheim "L4920" [sic] as the aircraft involved. While it is true that L4920 was a Bristol Blenheim, it was a Mk.I (not a Mk.IV) and it served with 39 Squadron (not 40 Squadron). Also, it was still flying after 25 May 1940, being wrecked in a crash in Somalia on 24 June 1940, almost a month later.
Sources:
1. Royal Air Force Aircraft P1000-P9999 (James J. Halley, Air Britain,n 1978 p 27
2. National Archives (PRO Kew) File AIR 81/562: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C14502013
3. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2280566/alexander,-jack-leslie/
4. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2280567/goffe,-dennis/
5. http://www.epibreren.com/ww2/raf/40_squadron.html#2505
6. http://www.epibreren.com/ww2/raf/40_squadron.html#2505
7. http://francecrashes39-45.net/page_fiche_av.php?id=1021
8. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rety
9. https://internationalbcc.co.uk/losses/200232/
10. https://internationalbcc.co.uk/losses/210602/
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 13-Aug-2019 23:23 | Dr. John Smith | Added |
| 14-Aug-2019 10:33 | stehlik49 | Updated [Operator] |
| 20-Jun-2022 17:24 | Anon. | Updated [Narrative] |
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