ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 228345
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| Date: | Wednesday 22 May 1940 |
| Time: | 10:30 LT |
| Type: | Gloster Gladiator Mk II |
| Owner/operator: | 263 (Fellowship of the Bellows) Sqn RAF |
| Registration: | N5719 |
| MSN: | HE-P |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | Høgfjellet at Sjøvegan, Salangen Municipality, Troms county -
 Norway
|
| Phase: | Combat |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | Bardufoss, Norway |
Gloster Gladiator Mk.II N5719 (HE-P): Written off (destroyed) when lost (failed to return) from a combat air patrol over Norway. Pilot killed. According to the official Air Ministry file into the incident (File AIR 81/599): "Gladiator N5719 crashed into a mountain in Norway, 22 May 1940. Pilot Officer M A Craig-Adams: report of death"
According to unofficial published sources:
"Michael Alexander Craig-Adams was from Epsom, Surrey. He served in 263 Squadron on both Norwegian expeditions.
Early in the morning on 26 April, two Gladiators were quickly readied for flight from Lake Lesjaskog and took off on patrol. No sooner were they in the air than the engine of Pilot Officer Craig-Adams’ Gladiator (N5647) suffered a piston rod seizure and he baled out safely. N5647 crashed at Litjdalen, Sunndalsøra. The wreckage has been recovered and the serial number was found on the aircraft.
263 Squadron suffered heavily losses and was soon withdrawn back to Great Britain to be re-equipped. On 21 May 1940, the squadron again landed in Norway. This time at Bardufoss in northern Norway after having flown off from the carrier HMS Furious.
On 22 May, the Gladiators undertook more than 30 sorties. At 10:25 eight He 111s of II/KG 26, escorted by two Bf 110s, were sent out on a armed reconnaissance and sank the anti-submarine trawler HMS Melbourne in Gratangsbotn.
Pilot Officer Craig-Adams in N5719 reportedly attacked a He 111 east of Salangen. Those on the ground heard machine-ground fire, and then both aircraft crashed, all four members of the German crew baling out. Craig-Adams was reportedly found still strapped in his cockpit, dead, only a few yards from the wreckage of the Heinkel in the mountains. It was presumed that he collided, or deliberately rammed the bomber.
The loss of a He 111 to fighters can’t be verified with German records. However, Luftwaffe records noted a claim for one British fighter shot down in combat, so he may well have been in combat with one bomber. 4./KG 26 lost He 111H-3 1H+OM (Wk.nr. 2520) (Unteroffizir August Riehle (pilot), Feldwebel Karl Heinz Hess (observer), Obergefreiter Josef Kopitz (radio operator) and Rudolf Entrich (air gunner)), which according to the crew was shot down by AA and crashed at Skavlikollen, Salangen.
Unteroffizier Riehle has later retold Norwegian aviation historians that during the day he flew as no. 2 in a “Rotte” bound for attacking British naval units “north” of Narvik. When approaching for the attack they flew low along a steep mountain wall, against which AA fire ricocheted. He had been wounded in his left hand three weeks previously and to help him flying his observer (Feldwebel Hess) helped him with the throttle and trim! After dropping the bombs, the left engine was hit and started burning. They managed to get the fire under control and flew over hilly terrain and believed that they could return to Trondheim on one engine. However, the observer who was about to correct the rudder trim over-corrected and the aircraft turned almost 90 degrees, which Riehel almost not managed to correct and they crash-landed. Riehle was wounded in the head and back but the other three in the crew were unharmed. They started off towards Sweden on foot but after four days, almost in Sweden, they were captured by Norwegian soldiers and taken POWs. They were shipped first to England and later were Riehle and Hess shipped to Canada, both returning to Germany after the war. Riehle was still living in Germany in the 1980s. A second bomber crashed on return to Vaernes with 45% damage.
Craig-Adams aircraft (identified by serial number found on the wreckage) crashed on Høgfjellet at Sjøvegan. It has now been recovered. No wreckage of any Heinkel has ever been found on or near the site of Craig-Adams' crashed Gladiator. Craig-Adams was buried at Narvik’s New Cemetery."
Remains of this Gladiator were recovered in 1999 and N5719 is under restoration by Retro Track and Air at Cam in Gloucestershire, with the plan to get the Gladiator flying again. to this end, the UK civil registration G-CBHO was allocated on 11 December 2001
The reported crash location of Hogfjellet at Sjøvegan, which is the administrative centre of Salangen Municipality in Troms county, Norway at approximate Coordinates: 68°52′25″N 17°50′49″E
Crew of Gladiator N5719:
Pilot Officer (Pilot) Michael A. Craig-Adams, RAF 41672, killed in action 22/05/1940, buried at Narvik New Cemetery, Narvik, Norway
Sources:
1. Royal Air Force Aircraft N1000-N9999 (James J Halley, Air Britain, 1978 p 34
2. National Archives (PRO Kew) File AIR 81/599: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C14502291
3. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2186698/craig-adams,-michael-alexander/
4. http://www.epibreren.com/ww2/raf/263_squadron.html#2205
5. http://surfcity.kund.dalnet.se/gladiator_raf_263.htm
6. https://tihlde.org/~ktsorens/flyvrak/hogfjellet.html
7. http://surfcity.kund.dalnet.se/commonwealth_craig-adams.htm
8. http://www.retrotrackandair.com/projects.html
9. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sj%C3%B8vegan
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 19-Aug-2019 23:28 | Dr. John Smith | Added |
| 19-Aug-2019 23:30 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Narrative] |
| 19-Aug-2019 23:31 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Narrative] |
| 20-Aug-2019 07:38 | stehlik49 | Updated [Aircraft type, Operator] |
| 27-Nov-2019 11:08 | Nepa | Updated [Operator, Narrative, Operator] |
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