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| Date: | Thursday 25 April 1940 |
| Time: | c. |
| Type: | Gloster Gladiator Mk II |
| Owner/operator: | 263 Sqn RAF |
| Registration: | N5628 |
| MSN: | - |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 0 |
| Other fatalities: | 0 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | Frozen lake Lesjaskogsvatnet in Oppland in central southern Norway -
 Norway
|
| Phase: | Standing |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | - |
| - |
The aircraft was destroyed, together with 12 other 263 Sqn. Gladiators, in a Luffwaffe attack on the frozen Lake Lesjaskogsvatnet Air Base, Norway on 25th April 1940. In May during the spring thaw all the wrecks sank to the bottom of the lake.
18 Gloster Gladiators of 263 Squadron, Royal Air Force, were flown off the aircraft carrier HMS Glorious to their new Norwegian operating base on frozen Lake Lesjaskogsvatnet, central Norway on 24th April 1940. 13 were destroyed on the 25th April during the air raid on the lake. The remaining 5 were re-deployed to a new base at Setnesmoen where they crashed or were destroyed by the RAF due to fuel shortage.
The Engine and front fuselage of N5628 was recovered by RAF Wyton diving team in August 1970, with other sections of the aircraft being recovered by the Berlin Sub Aqua Club and forwarded to the RAF Museum Hendon in 1972.
Sources:
https://www.rafmuseum.org.uk/documents/collections/72-A-472-Gladiator-II-N5628.pdf
http://www.aviationmuseum.eu/Blogvorm/royal-air-force-museum-hendon/gloster-gladiator-mk-2-n5628-raf/
http://www.warbirdregistry.org/gladregistry/gladiator-n5628.html
https://tihlde.org/~ktsorens/flyvrak/lesjaskog.html
Images:
Royal Air Force Museum, Hendon, UK. - 18th September 2010
Royal Air Force Museum, Hendon, UK. - 18th September 2010
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 14-Sep-2020 16:25 | Peter Clarke | Added |
| 15-Sep-2020 16:45 | Peter Clarke | Updated [Photo, ] |
| 15-Sep-2020 19:42 | Apen | Updated [Aircraft type, Operator, Narrative, Operator, ] |
| 16-Sep-2020 17:40 | Peter Clarke | Updated [Operator, Location, Source, Narrative, ] |
| 17-Sep-2020 19:27 | Angel Dick one | Updated [Operator, Operator, ] |
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