Date:	Saturday 11 May 1940
Time:	morning
Type:	Fairey Battle Mk I
Owner/operator:	88 (Hong Kong) Sqn RAF
Registration:	P2251
MSN:
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 3
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	near Saint Vith, Liège -   Belgium
Phase:	Combat
Nature:	Military
Departure airport:	Mourmelon-Le-Grand, France
Destination airport:

Narrative:
Fairey Battle Mk.1 P2251 (RH-D) of 88 Squadron, RAF: Lost on combat operations - officially described as "Battle P2251 crashed near Saint-Hubert, Belgium, 11 May 1940". Airborne 09:45 hrs from Mourmelon-le-Grand, France. At 9:45 am six Battles of 88 Squadron and two Battles of 218 Squadron from Baccones-sur-Marne took off to attack enemy columns at St-Vith.

It is doubtful whether one of them succeeded in causing damage to the enemy column. The only crew that returned, their Battle was badly damaged by Flak on the way there, saw three Battles being knocked down by heavy Flak on the way to the target above the Ardennes. Seven aircraft were lost in total.

P2251 was one of those that crashed. It was shot down between Vaux-sur-Sûre (Belgium) and Bercheux (Luxembourg), two small towns on the Bastogne to Neufchâteau road, near St-Vith, Liège, Wallonia, Belgium (at approximate coordinates: 50°16′N 06°07′E). One of the three crew killed, the other two were captured and taken as PoWs

Crew of Battle P2261:
Sergeant (Observer) Edward J.M. Whittle, RAF 563211, age 26, killed in action 11/05/1940, buried at Juseret (Bercheux) New Communal Cemetery, Belgium
Corporal A.C.Collyer (Wireless Op/Air Gunner); survived, captured, taken as PoW, interned in Camps 8B/L1, PoW No.13056.
Flight Lt A.J.Madge (Pilot); survived, captured and taken as PoW, in Camps L1/L3, PoW No.631.

1. Royal Air Force Aircraft P1000-P9999 (James J. Halley, Air Britain 1978 p 13)
2. The Battle File (Sidney Shail, Air Britain, 1997
3. National Archives (PRO Kew) File AIR 81/244: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C14142069
4. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2258961/whittle,-edward-james-mortimer/
5. https://www.hangarflying.eu/erfgoedsites/graf-whittle-fairey-battle-p2251-rh/
6. http://www.epibreren.com/ww2/raf/88_squadron.html
7. http://www.belgians-remember-them.eu/list3.php
8. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Vith
9. https://www.luchtvaartgeschiedenis.be/model-van-toestel/fairey-battle

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
02-Feb-2011 13:33	ThW	Added
02-Jan-2012 12:39	Uli Elch	Updated [Aircraft type, Operator, Location, Source, Narrative]
23-Jan-2012 03:28	Nepa	Updated [Aircraft type, Operator, Narrative]
03-Jun-2013 09:00	Nepa	Updated [Operator, Narrative]
19-Jun-2019 19:49	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Time, Location, Departure airport, Source, Narrative]
05-Nov-2022 14:26	Ron Averes	Updated [Location]