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| Date: | Tuesday 3 September 1940 |
| Time: | 00:45 LT |
| Type: | Handley Page Hampden Mk I |
| Owner/operator: | 144 Sqn RAF |
| Registration: | P4370 |
| MSN: | PL-L |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 4 |
| Other fatalities: | 0 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | between Nuth and Wijnandsrade/Laar, Limburg -
 Netherlands
|
| Phase: | Combat |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | RAF Hemswell, Lincolnshire |
| RAF Hemswell, Lincolnshire |
Handley Page Hampden Mk.I P4370 (PL-L) of 144 Squadron, RAF. Lost on combat operations on night of 2-3/9/1940. Took off from RAF Hemswell at 21.52 hours for an operation to Ludwigshafen am Rhein in Germany. Crashed at 00:45 hours on the morning of 3/9/1940 after being coned by searchlights & attacked by night fighter pilot Feldwebel Paul Gildner of the 3./NJG 1, who was probably flying a Bf 109.
Aircraft came down between Nuth and Wijnandsrade/Laar, Limburg, Netherlands. Two of the crew of four were killed, the other two survived to be taken PoW:
Crew:-
Pilot : Pilot Officer Richard Sydney Albion Churchill RAF 41255 : Commission Gazetted Friday 08 September, 1939) [PoW]
2nd Pilot : Pilot Officer Ian Clark Kirk RAF 42714 : Commission Gazetted Tuesday 03 October, 1939) [PoW]
Wireless Operator / Air Gunner : Sergeant Albert Eric Walker RAF 615619 [Killed]
Rear Gunner : Sergeant Anthony Charles Henry Edmeads RAFVR 751841 [Killed]
P/O Churchill participated in the Great Escape, and survived.
The two crew fatalities were buried at the Maastricht General Cemetery, Netherlands (50.841216 / 5.663481)
Sources:
1. Nachtjagd Combat Archive The Early Years part one
2. https://studiegroepluchtoorlog.nl/02-03-09-1940-sglo-t0811-handley-page-hampden-mk-i-p4370-pl-l/
3. Archived from Lost Bombers site: http://archive.is/tjMM3
4. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2962032/walker,-albert-eric/
5. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2962004/edmeads,-anthony-charles-henry/
6. https://www.backtonormandy.org/the-history/air-force-operations/airplanes-allies-and-axis-lost/hampden/21675-P43701940-09-03.html
7. Rob Davis Bomber Command Losses Database
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 17-Dec-2008 11:45 | ASN archive | Added |
| 01-Jul-2018 00:06 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Time, Cn, Operator, Total fatalities, Total occupants, Other fatalities, Location, Phase, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative, ] |
| 17-Oct-2018 05:35 | Nepa | Updated [Operator, Operator, ] |
| 27-Apr-2020 13:47 | TigerTimon | Updated [Other fatalities, Source, Narrative, ] |
| 13-Mar-2024 13:26 | Rob Davis | Updated [Source, Narrative, ] |
| 13-Mar-2024 13:27 | Rob Davis | Updated [Narrative, ] |
| 10-Feb-2025 07:50 | Rob Davis | Updated [Narrative, ] |
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