Date & Time:
Sep 5, 1942
Type of aircraft:
Handley Page H.P.52 Hampden
Operator:
Registration:
P1273
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Military
Survivors:
Yes
Site:
Plain, Valley
Schedule:
Sumburgh - Afrikanda
Country:
Russia
Region:
Asia
Crew on board:
5
Crew fatalities:
0
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
0
Other fatalities:
0
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
The airplane departed Sumburgh, Shetland Islands, on a transit flight to Afrikanda AFB, Murmansk oblast. It was part of a group of 16 Hampden being transferred to northwest Russia, taking part to 'Operation Orator', the code name for the defense of the Allied Arctic convoy PQ-18 by British and Australian air force units based temporarily in northwest Russia. Over Pechenga, it was shot down by a German fighter and crashed. All five crew members became PoW.
Crew:
Sgt Henry Lewis Bertrand,
Sgt Edward Dudley Bind,
Cpl George Richard Desforges,
Sgt Kenneth Scott Piper,
Sgt Kenneth Clayton Smith.
Crew:
Sgt Henry Lewis Bertrand,
Sgt Edward Dudley Bind,
Cpl George Richard Desforges,
Sgt Kenneth Scott Piper,
Sgt Kenneth Clayton Smith.
Probable cause:
Shot down by a German fighter.
