ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 242492
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| Date: | Thursday 25 April 1940 |
| Time: | c. |
| Type: | Gloster Gladiator Mk II |
| Owner/operator: | 263 Sqn RAF |
| Registration: | N5579 |
| 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.
During the 8 hours of air raids against the air base on that day, Plt Off MacNamara, flying N5579 (code, H-ED), intercepted and shot down an attacking He111. The air base was abandoned by the RAF on the 27th April 1940.
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 N5579 airframe were recovered from the lake in in 1972 and stored until 1980 when they were transferred to the Fleet Air Arm Museum, RNAS Yeovilton, UK. for use in the reconstruction of a Gloster Sea Gladiator 'N5518'.
Sources:
https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205183668
https://www.rafmuseum.org.uk/documents/collections/72-A-472-Gladiator-II-N5628.pdf
http://surfcity.kund.dalnet.se/gladiator_raf_263.htm
http://www.warbirdregistry.org/gladregistry/gladiator-n5579.html
https://www.rafmuseum.org.uk/documents/collections/74-A-17-Gladiator-K8042.pdf
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 |
Images:
Fleet Air Arm Museum, RNAS Yeovilton , UK. - 18th October 2010
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 16-Sep-2020 16:34 | Peter Clarke | Added |
| 17-Sep-2020 19:28 | Apen | Updated [Aircraft type, Operator, Operator] |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
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