ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 228274
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| Date: | Sunday 26 May 1940 |
| Time: | day |
| Type: |  Bristol Blenheim Mk IV |
| Owner/operator: | 59 Sqn RAF |
| Registration: | R3613 |
| MSN: | TR-B |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 3 / Occupants: 3 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | near Bergsche Mass River, Dussen-Warneton, Hainaut -
 Belgium
|
| Phase: | Combat |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | Poix-de-Picardie, France |
Bristol Blenheim Mk.IV R3613 (TR-B) 59 Squadron, RAF: Written off (presumed destroyed) when lost (failed to return) for combat operations over Belgium on 26 May 1940. Aircraft crashed at Warneton, Belgium, and all three crew were killed. According to the official Air Ministry file on the incident (File AIR 81/583): "Blenheim R3613 crashed at Warneton, Belgium, 26 May 1940. Sergeant G L Schwind, Aircraftman 2nd Class A C Brogan and Pilot Officer R E Shaw: report of deaths"
Reportedly shot down by enemy fighters, and crashed at Dussen-Warneton, near the River Bergsche Mass, Province of Hainaut.
Crew of Blenheim R3613:
Aircraftman 2nd Class (Wireless Op./Air Gunner) Albert C. Brogan, RAF 552071, age 18, killed in action 26/05/1940, buried at Warneton (Waasten) Communal Cemetery, Hainaut, Belgium
Sergeant (Observer) Gordon L. Schwind, RAF 581353, age 21, killed in action 26/05/1940, buried at Warneton (Waasten) Communal Cemetery, Belgium
Pilot Officer (Pilot) Richard E. Shaw, RAF 42575, age 22, killed in action 26/05/1940, buried at Jonkerbos War Cemetery, Gelderland, Netherlands.
Unusually, one of the three crew was not only buried in a different cemetery to the two other crew members, he was also buried in a completely different country. The explanation for this seems to have been that the body of P/O Richard E Shaw was exhumed post war from Warneton (Waasten) Communal Cemetery in Belgium, on the request of his next of kin, so that he could be buried next to the body of his brother, Squadron Leader John Leslie Shaw, who had been killed in DH Mosquito NS950, between Dussen and Hank in Holland during the night of 5-6/6/1944. He was shot down by a German night fighter at 02:32hrs. His navigator Sgt Philip Stanley-Smith, was killed too
The reported crash location of Warneton is a section of the Belgian municipality of Comines-Warneton in Wallonia in the province of Hainaut, Belgium, at approximate co ordinates 50°45′0″ N, 2°57′0″ E.
Sources:
1. Royal Air Force Aircraft R1000-R9999 (James J. Halley, Air Britain, 1980 p 23)
2. National Archives (PRO Kew) File AIR 81/583: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C14502221
3. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2253089/brogan,-albert-charles/
4. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2253102/schwind,-gordon-louis/
5. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2646857/shaw,-richard-ernest/
6. http://www.epibreren.com/ww2/raf/59_squadron.html#2605
7. http://www.belgians-remember-them.eu/crash-hai-warn.php
8. http://www.rafcommands.com/archive/11427.php
9. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warneton,_Belgium
History of this aircraft
Other occurrences involving this aircraft
| 18 May 1940 | R3702 | 59 Sqn RAF | 2 | Maubray, Tournai, Hainaut | |
w/o |
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 17-Aug-2019 00:01 | Dr. John Smith | Added |
| 19-Aug-2019 17:57 | stehlik49 | Updated [Operator] |
| 26-Jun-2022 02:18 | Ron Averes | Updated [Location] |
| 07-Nov-2022 07:58 | Ron Averes | Updated [Location] |
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