France | Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archives

The airplane departed RAF St Eval at 1838LT on a mission to Ushant. Approaching the target area, it was shot down by the pilot of a Me.109 and crashed into the sea. All three crew members were killed.
Crew:
P/O Robert Norman Philpott, pilot,
Sgt Cyril Arthur Carew Goad, observer,
Sgt Frederick George Manning, wireless operator.

Probable cause:

Shot down by a German fighter.

Crash of a Bristol 142 Blenheim IV off Dunkirk: 3 killed

Date & Time: Mar 26, 1941

Type of aircraft:

Bristol 142 Blenheim

Operator:

Registration:

V5648

Flight Phase:

Flight

Flight Type:

Bombing

Survivors:

Site:

Lake, Sea, Ocean, River

Schedule:

Thorney Island - Thorney Island

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Circumstances:

The airplane departed RAF Thorney Island at 1020LT to attack ships off the French coast. Approaching the coast, it crashed in unknown circumstances into the sea off Dunkirk. All three crew members were killed.
Crew:
P/O Peter McMillan, pilot,
Sgt Derek Charles Spencer Vane, observer,
Sgt William James Butler, wireless operator.

Crash of a Heinkel He.111H-3 near Laval: 2 killed

Date & Time: Mar 25, 1941 at 1130 LT

Type of aircraft:

Heinkel He.111

Operator:

Flight Phase:

Flight Type:

Survivors:

Site:

Schedule:

Vannes - Dijon

MSN:

3320

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Circumstances:

The airplane was transferred from Vannes to Dijon-Longvic AFB when it crashed in unknown circumstances near Laval. Two crew members were killed and two others were injured.
Crew:
Ofw Reinhold Wiessner, pilot, †
Ofw Erich Kraft, mechanic, †
Fw Karl Schray, radio operator,
Uffz Alfred Schnülgen, mechanic.

Crash of a Heinkel He.111H-5 at Lanvéoc-Poulmic NAS: 4 killed

Date & Time: Mar 21, 1941

Type of aircraft:

Heinkel He.111

Operator:

Registration:

1G+??

Flight Phase:

Takeoff (climb)

Flight Type:

Bombing

Survivors:

Yes

Site:

Airport (less than 10 km from airport)

MSN:

3697

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Circumstances:

Crashed for unknown reasons at Lanvéoc-Poulmic NAS. Four crew members were killed and a fifth was seriously injured.
Crew:
Uffz Fritz Kukoreit, pilot, †
Gefr Wilhelm Kabey, observer, †
Fw Arno Bönicke, radio operator,
Uffz Willi Rosenberg, mechanic, †
Ogefr Friedrich Neuhoff, air gunner. †

Crash of a Junkers JU.88A-5 in Argentan: 4 killed

Date & Time: Mar 21, 1941

Type of aircraft:

Junkers JU.88

Operator:

Registration:

M7+FL

Flight Phase:

Flight

Flight Type:

Bombing

Survivors:

Site:

Plain, Valley

MSN:

7210

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Circumstances:

The crew got lost and following a fuel exhaustion, the airplane crashed in Argentan. All four crew members were killed.
Crew:
Fw Hans Buse, pilot,
Ogefr Max Ortlieb, radio operator,
Lt Karl Scholl, observer,
Uffz Kurt Mönnich, air gunner.

Probable cause:

Fuel exhaustion.

Crash of a Handley Page H.P.52 Hampden I in Morlaix: 2 killed

Date & Time: Mar 21, 1941

Type of aircraft:

Handley Page H.P.52 Hampden

Operator:

Registration:

X3132

Flight Phase:

Flight Type:

Survivors:

Site:

Schedule:

Scampton – Scampton

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Circumstances:

The airplane departed RAF Scampton at 0300LT on a mine laying operation off Brest. It was shot down by enemy fire and crashed near Morlaix. Two crew members were killed, a third evaded and a fourth became PoW.
Crew:
Sgt William Alexander Millar, pilot, †
Sgt Duncan Maccallum, observer,
Sgt Norman Stewart Weir, wireless operator, †
Sgt Oliver Barton James, air gunner.

Probable cause:

Shot down by enemy fire.

Crash of a Junkers JU.88A-5 off Calais: 4 killed

Date & Time: Mar 20, 1941

Type of aircraft:

Junkers JU.88

Operator:

Registration:

M7+CL

Flight Phase:

Flight

Flight Type:

Bombing

Survivors:

Site:

Lake, Sea, Ocean, River

MSN:

4245

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Circumstances:

Crashed in unknown circumstances into the sea off Calais, killing the entire crew.
Crew:
Oblt Bernhard van Bechtolsheim, pilot,
Gefr Josef Möller, observer,
Uffz Alfons Jarrosch, radio operator,
Fw Heinz Gerstner, mechanic.

Crash of a Breguet 521 Bizerte off Royan: 1 killed

Date & Time: Mar 17, 1941 at 2051 LT

Type of aircraft:

Breguet 521 Bizerte

Operator:

Registration:

SG+FN

Flight Phase:

Landing (descent or approach)

Flight Type:

Military

Survivors:

Yes

Site:

Lake, Sea, Ocean, River

MSN:

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Circumstances:

The floatplane crashed in unknown circumstances off Royan. The radio operator Gefr Otto Heinrichs was killed.

Crash of a Focke-Wulf Fw.200C-3 Condor in Lescoff: 5 killed

Date & Time: Mar 17, 1941

Type of aircraft:

Focke-Wulf Fw.200 Condor

Operator:

Registration:

SG+KQ

Flight Phase:

Flight Type:

Survivors:

Site:

MSN:

0041

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Circumstances:

The four engine airplane crashed in unknown circumstances in Lescoff, thee km west of Plogoff. Five crew members were killed and a sixth was seriously injured. The only survivor died from injuries sustained on 11 June 1941.
Crew:
Lt Hans Winkler, pilot, †
Oblt Helmut Nitsch, pilot, †
Fw Anton Langer, mechanic, †
Uffz Nikolaus Kleinert, radio operator, †
Gefr Wilhelm Harting, radio operator, †
Dr. Hermann Erhard Haller, meteo.

Crash of a Heinkel He.111H-5 in Vertou: 4 killed

Date & Time: Mar 17, 1941

Type of aircraft:

Heinkel He.111

Operator:

Flight Phase:

Flight

Flight Type:

Bombing

Survivors:

Site:

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Circumstances:

Crashed in unknown circumstances in Vertou, some 8 km southeast of Nantes. All four crew members were killed.
Crew:
Lt Rudolf Freudenberger, pilot,
Uffz Siegfried Carl, observer,
Gefr Wilhelm Sturz, radio operator,
Uffz Johann Brühl, mechanic.