ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 241432
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| Date: | Thursday 25 April 1940 |
| Time: | c. |
| Type: | Gloster Gladiator Mk II |
| Owner/operator: | 263 Sqn RAF |
| Registration: | N5589 |
| MSN: | - |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 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.
Sections of the aircraft were recovered by the Berlin Sub Aqua Club in 1972 and dispatched to RAF Wildenrath, Germany and stored. Components of the aircraft have been transferred to Malta Air Museum, Jet Age Museum, Staverton Airport, Gloucester, England and FAA Museum, RNAS Yeovilton, England for use in Gloster Gladiator restorations.
Sources:
https://www.rafmuseum.org.uk/documents/collections/72-A-472-Gladiator-II-N5628.pdf
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No._263_Squadron_RAF
https://www.key.aero/forum/historic-aviation/73192-gladiator-survivors
https://tihlde.org/~ktsorens/flyvrak/lesjaskog.html
History of this aircraft
Other occurrences involving this aircraft
| 21 April 1940 | N5624 | 263 Sqn RAF | 1 | Scapa Flow, Scotland, |  |
w/o |
| 21 May 1940 | N5697 | 263 (Fellowship of the Bellows) Sqn RAF | 1 | Seja Island, northern Norwegian coast. | |
w/o |
| 21 May 1940 | N5693 | 263 (Fellowship of the Bellows) Sqn RAF | 0 | Seja Island, northern Norwegian coast. | |
w/o |
| 2 June 1940 | N5914 | 263 (Fellowship of the Bellows) Sqn RAF | 1 | Lille Haugefjellet, 12 miles East of Narvik, | |
w/o |
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 14-Sep-2020 17:47 | Peter Clarke | Added |
| 15-Sep-2020 19:47 | Apen | Updated [Aircraft type, Operator, Location, Narrative, Operator] |
| 16-Sep-2020 17:22 | Peter Clarke | Updated [Source, Narrative] |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
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