Date:	Tuesday 2 July 1940
Time:	night
Type:	Armstrong Whitworth Whitley B Mk V
Owner/operator:	58 Sqn RAF
Registration:	N1461
MSN:	GE-R
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 4 / Occupants: 5
Other fatalities:	0
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	Kiel, Schleswig Holstein -   Germany
Phase:	Combat
Nature:	Military
Departure airport:	RAF Linton-on-Ouse, North Yorkshire
Destination airport:	RAF Linton-on-Ouse, North Yorkshire

Narrative:
Armstrong Whitworth Whitley Mk.V N1461 (GE-R) 58 Sqaudron, RAF; Written off (destroyed) when lost (Failed to Return) from combat operations over Germany. Of the five crew, four were killed, and one survived to be taken as a PoW. According to the official Air Ministry file into the incident (File AIR 81/1003): "Whitley N1461 crashed at Kiel, Germany, 2 July 1940. Sergeant D Leishman, Sergeant H E A Craven, Flying Officer L H McFarlane and Pilot Officer C J T Jones: report of deaths. Warrant Officer J P Caldwell: prisoner of war"

Airborne from RAF Linton-on-Ouse, North Yorkshire. Target: Keil Dockyard, Kiel, Schleswig-Holstein. Failed to return, presumed shot down by Flak/AAA. As stated above, four of the five crew were killed, and one survived to be taken as a PoW

Crew:-
Pilot : Pilot Officer Cecil John Trevelyan Jones RAF 70805 : Commission Gazetted Friday 08 March, 1940) [Killed]
2nd Pilot : Flying Officer Laurence Herbert McFarlane RAF 39545 [Killed]
Observer : Sergeant David Leishman RAFVR 751309 [Killed]
Wireless Operator : Sergeant Henry Eric Archibald Craven RAF 542430 [Killed]
Rear Gunner : Sergeant Frederick Caldwell RAF 655627 [PoW]

The four casualties lie at the Kiel War Cemetery, Germany (54.345657 / 10.124720)

1. Royal Air Force Aircraft N1000-N9999 (James J Halley, Air Britain, 1977
2. National Archives (PRO Kew) File AIR 81/1003: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C14502842
3. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2356577/leishman,-david/
4. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2356289/craven,-henry-eric-archibald/
5. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2356618/mcfarlane,-laurence-herbert/
6. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2356533/jones,-cecil-john-trevelyan/
7. Rob Davis Bomber Command Losses Database http://robdavistelford.co.uk/webspace/raf_bc

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
04-Oct-2019 19:07	Dr. John Smith	Added
08-Oct-2019 11:08	juza7	Updated [Operator, ]
10-Sep-2025 06:42	Rob Davis	Updated [Source, Narrative, ]