Accident Royal Aircraft Factory B.E.2d 6231, Wednesday 14 February 1917
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Date:Wednesday 14 February 1917
Time:12:00
Type:Silhouette image of generic be2 model; specific model in this crash may look slightly different    
Royal Aircraft Factory B.E.2d
Owner/operator:2 Sqn RFC
Registration: 6231
MSN:
Fatalities:Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 2
Other fatalities:0
Aircraft damage: Destroyed
Location:West of Loos, near Lille, Nord -   France
Phase: Combat
Nature:Military
Departure airport:
Destination airport:
Narrative:
14.2.17: Royal aircraft Factory B.E.2c 6231 of 2 Squadron, RFC. Shot down by air ace Manfred von Richthofen in his Albatros D.II, west of Loos, near Lille, Nord department, Hauts-de-France. Of the two crew of the B.E.2d, one Lt. Cyril Bennett, (pilot) survived and became a POW; the other 2nd Lt. Herbert Arthur Croft (observer) was KIA (Killed In Action). 2nd Lt Croft was originally posted as "missing", although there is a note "report of death 18/5/17" on his record card. The incident was Von Richthofen's 20th victory in air to air combat.

Sources:

1. http://www.theaerodrome.com/aces/index.php
2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_victories_of_Manfred_von_Richthofen
3. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/585358/croft,-/
4. http://www.rafmuseumstoryvault.org.uk/archive/croft-h.a.-herbert-arthur

Revision history:

Date/timeContributorUpdates
20-Jan-2019 23:09 Dr. John Smith Updated [Operator, Total fatalities, Total occupants, Other fatalities, Location, Country, Source, Narrative, ]
22-Jan-2019 11:53 stehlik49 Updated [Operator, ]
12-Nov-2022 13:11 Ron Averes Updated [Location, ]

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