warshipbuilder
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9 Sqn(Honington – Wellington IC) 17.4.41
Nine aircraft took off for operations in accordance with Headquarters No. 3 Group operations order form B.471 dated 17.4.41.
Seven aircraft returned safely. Two aircraft, N.2745 (SGT. HEAYSMAN and Crew) and T.2900 (SGT. STARK and Crew) failed to return.
N.2745 took off for COLOGNE and was routed via NAMUR. Nothing was heard of the aircraft at the time the routine signal was expected from the area, but at 2343 the signal was received indicating the aircraft was suffering from engine trouble and that the crew was abandoning the aircraft by parachute. No indication of the nature of the engine trouble or its cause were given. TANGMERE and its associated stations took a snap bearing while the message was being sent but it gave only a very approximate position some 10 or 15 miles off the Dutch coast. A telegram later received from the International Red Cross stated that three of the crew (Sgt. WHITLOCK, LANCASTER and BALCH) are prisoners of war. No mention is made of the remainder of the crew.
T.2900 made its way to its target in BERLIN where it was due about 0100 hours. At 2357 hours, the letters “NAP” were sent, indicating for some reason the Captain was unable to proceed to its main target and had bombed a last resort target. Nothing more was heard from the aircraft until 0014 hours when they requested a fix, which put them in the neighbourhood of TEXEL. A further fix was requested at 0030 hours which showed they were proceeding from their original position to base and were not quite half way across the North Sea, finally a S.O.S. message was sent by the aircraft at 0058 hours, a fix which was some 30 miles off the English coast.
A search was organized and commenced in the early hours of the following morning, in the course of which a parachute was seen in the water a few miles off LOWESTOFT and a dinghy was seen to be floating in the water within two or three miles of the estimated position where the aircraft went down. It is difficult to connect the parachute with this particular event however. The attention of some destroyers on convoy duty was directed to alter course towards the parachute to investigate, but there was nobody attached to the parachute harness. With regard to the dinghy, a ladder was hanging over the side, and there seems every reason to believe that this dinghy belonged to the missing aircraft. There were no signs, however, of wreckage near this position. It is possible that the Aircraft hit the water and in breaking up the dingy was released, especially in view of the fact the night was very dark and 10/10ths cloud was reported over this area.
ADDENDUM – N.2745 – Sgt. B. Hanlon also became a POW. The two missing crew, Sgt. G.E. Heaysman and Sgt. C.J. Mavor RCAF are buried in Rheinberg War Cemetery. No trace of T.2900 or its crew Sgt. R.D.C. Stark, Sgt. F.W. Baker, Sgt. J.W. Nightingarl, Sgt. G. Gibb, Sgt. J.E. Johnson and Sgt. H.F. Hurt, was ever found.
Base Changes
30 Sqn(Blenheim I/IF) moved to Maleme
32 Sqn(Hurricane I) moved to Pembrey
208 Sqn(Hurricane I) moved to Eleusis
211 Sqn(Blenheim I) moved to Agrinion
274 Sqn(Hurricane I) moved to Gerawla
First and Last Operational Missions
308 Sqn(Baginton) flew its last OM in the Hurricane I
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