ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 228516
This information is added by users of ASN. Neither ASN nor the Flight Safety Foundation are responsible for the completeness or correctness of this information.
If you feel this information is incomplete or incorrect, you can submit corrected information.
| Date: | Monday 27 May 1940 |
| Time: | 19:45 |
| Type: |  Hawker Hurricane Mk 1 |
| Owner/operator: | 145 Sqn RAF |
| Registration: | N2710 |
| MSN: | SO-N |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | between Dunkerque and St. Omer, Pas de Calais, Nord Department -
 France
|
| Phase: | Combat |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | RAF Tangmere, Chichester, West Sussex |
Hawker Hurricane Mk.I N2710 (SO-N) 145 Squadron, RAF: Written off (destroyed) when lost (failed to return) from a combat air patrol over the Dunkerque-Calais sector 27 May 1940. Pilot survived, bailed out, evaded capture, and returned to his unit via Dunkirk. According to the official Air Ministry file on the incident (File AIR 81/641): "Hurricane N2710 in air operations over Dunkirk and Calais, France, 27 May 1940. Pilot Officer D N Forde, injured"
On 27th May though present the entire day on one or other of the different patrol lines, the RAF fighters were usually greatly outnumbered. Eleven Spitfires of No. 74 Squadron, for instance, gave battle to thirty Do.17's and Me.109's; five Hurricanes of No. 145 Squadron attacked the rear section of a Do.17 formation only to find themselves set upon by twenty or thirty Bf.110's; twenty Hurricanes and Spitfires of Nos. 56 and 610 Squadrons, trying to pick off a single He.111, at once ran into thirty or forty Me.110's.
But though the fighters could not prevent the enemy reducing the town and port of Dunkirk to rubble, they certainly spoiled his aim against the targets that mattered most—the harbour and the ships. For the damage did not, in spite of first impressions, make evacuation from the port impossible; and though there were a dozen concerted assaults against our vessels, as well as many individual attacks, not more than two ships were sunk.
145 Squadron lost six Hurricanes that day - three at around 14:30 hours on the first combat air patrol, and a further three at around 19:45 hours on the second combat air patrol of the day. Of the six pilots involved, two were killed, one (Sgt A C Bailey) was captured, and the other three survived to be evacuated, returning by sea from Dunkirk to rejoin their unit.
Crew of Hurricane N2710:
Pilot Officer Derek Nigel Forde (pilot, RAF 41526) - survived, bailed out slightly injured on landing, evaded capture, and returned to England via Dunkirk by boat.
P/O Forde was shot down again over France on 27 July 1940 in Spitfire P8712; this time he was captured, and taken as a PoW. He survived, the war, and died in 1979
Sources:
1. Royal Air Force Aircraft N1000-N9999 (James J Halley, Air Britain, 1977 p 14)
2. National Archives (PRO Kew) File AIR 81/641: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C14502062
3. http://francecrashes39-45.net/page_fiche_av.php?id=7524
4. http://www.epibreren.com/ww2/raf/145_squadron.html#2705
5. http://www.rafcommands.com/forum/showthread.php?8541&p=49571#49571
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 25-Aug-2019 23:17 | Dr. John Smith | Added |
| 27-Aug-2019 06:38 | stehlik49 | Updated [Operator] |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
The Aviation Safety Network is an exclusive service provided by:
Quick Links:
| ASN Home | Send Correction / Feedback |
| FSF Home | Disclaimer | Copyright |
| Contact Us | Privacy Policy |
| Press / Media |
CONNECT WITH US:
©2024 Flight Safety Foundation