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.
You can contribute by submitting additional or updated information.
| Date: | Saturday 8 November 1941 |
| Time: | night |
| Type: | Handley Page Hampden Mk I |
| Owner/operator: | 455 Sqn RAAF |
| Registration: | P1201 |
| MSN: | UB-P |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 4 |
| Other fatalities: | 0 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | Onoz, Jemeppe-sur-Sambre, Namur -
 Belgium
|
| Phase: | Combat |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | RAF Swinderby, Lincolnshire |
Handley Page Hampden Mk.I P1201. Delivered 30/10/1941 To 455 Squadron, RAAF, and coded "UB-P". Took off from RAF Swinderby, Lincolnshire at 18.40 on 07/11/1941 on a "Rover Patrol", tasked with bombing and machine-gunning the searchlight batteries near Aachen. Written off (destroyed) 08/11/1941, when lost on patrol near Aachen-Marstrich.
On the return leg home, came down in Belgium at Onoz, municipality of Jemeppe-sur-Sambre in the province of Namur in the Walloon region of Belgium. (At approximate Coordinates: 50.492222 / 4.670278. All four crew survived and were take as PoWs. According to the pilot:
"Having carried out low level attatcks with bombs and M/G's on the searchlight belt Aachen-Marstrich, I was returning to base low level. As was later discovered the Met forecast on the wind speed was wrong due to freak weather conditions and our position was some miles south of that estimate. This brought me into the foothills of the Ardennes, where at 350 feet, I collided with a chimney stack, tearing off the lower portion of fuselage and breaking the fuel supply. The motors out, I had to crash land."
"My observer and wireless operator escaped with me from the wrecked A/C. The A/G was torn off in his compartment by the effect of the collision, but was later reported in hospital and later as recovered and in one of the N.C.O.'s camps by another prisoner."
"Crash landed caused by collision with chimney while while tending to wounded members of crew and taken prisoner by member of Feldpolice"
Crew:-
Pilot : Pilot Officer James Anthony Cathcart Gordon RAAF Aus/400367 [PoW]
Observer : Pilot Officer John Donald Cordwell RAF 102599 (NCO:1375248 : Commission Gazetted Friday 29 August, 1941) [PoW]
Wireless Operator / Air Gunner : Sergeant Mowbray Norman Stokes RAF 1168877 [PoW]
Rear Gunner : Sergeant Edward Holt RAF 1109174 [PoW]
The house adjacent to the crash site in 1941 was still standing in 2017, and in August 2017, the families of the members of the crew of Hampden P1201 visited Onaz and the crash site, 76 years on
Sources:
1. http://www.adf-serials.com.au/hampden.htm
2. https://www.backtonormandy.org/the-history/air-force-operations/airplanes-allies-and-axis-lost/hampden/18448-P12011941-11-08.html
3. http://aircrewremembered.com/gordon-james-anthony-cathcart-gordon.html
4. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Onoz,_Namur
5. Rob Davis Bomber Command Losses Database
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 17-Dec-2008 11:45 | ASN archive | Added |
| 16-Jul-2018 16:16 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Time, Registration, Cn, Operator, Total fatalities, Total occupants, Other fatalities, Location, Country, Phase, Departure airport, Source, Narrative, ] |
| 10-Nov-2018 22:25 | Nepa | Updated [Operator, Operator, ] |
| 30-Jun-2022 02:57 | Ron Averes | Updated [Location, ] |
| 26-Oct-2024 15:56 | Rob Davis | Updated [Other fatalities, Source, Narrative, ] |
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:
©2025 Flight Safety Foundation