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RAF aircraft's crash sites in Province of West-Vlaanderen:
Off the Belgian coast

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Last update: 25/06/23


Elegy to
the Heroes of Silence


* To the 21 Squadron *
* To the crew of L8744-YH *
* To the monument erected in remembrance *
* Cemetery where rest the crew *

Crash site of Blenheim L8744-YH
28/05/1940

aircraft
cest raf squadron
Unit: 21 Squadron
Aircraft: Blenheim
Code: L8744-YH
Base: Watton
Mission: St-Omer
Crew officer: Sgt TWAMLEY, ARNOLD EDWARD DESMOND
Incident: No details about the crash

Location: (Prov. West-Vlanderen)

crash

Facts

Bristol Blenheim Mk.IV L8744 (YH-L) 21 Squadron, RAF: Written off (presumed destroyed) 28 May 1940 when lost (failed to return) for combat operations over France. Of the three crew, one was killed, and two survived uninjured. According to the official Air Ministry file into the incident (File AIR 81/630): "Blenheim L8744 shot down at Ghyvelde, east of Dunkirk, France, 28 May 1940. Sergeant A E D Twamley - report of death. Aircraftman 2nd Class S C Thompson and Sergeant R G Bailes - uninjured"
Blenheim L8744 was airborne at 12:30 hrs from RAF Watton, Norfolk. Lost attacking enemy positions in the Clairmarais Forest, immediately East of St. Omer (Pas-de-Calais), France. As stated above, one crew member killed, the other two survived uninjured.
Note that the official location of the crash site for Blenheim L8744 is "Ghyvelde, east of Dunkirk, France". This location is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. It is located on the Belgian border, and just inland from the North Sea at approximate coordinates: 51°03′08″N 2°31′41″E. The unofficial crash location is the "Clairmarais Forest, 2 km E of St-Omer (Pas-de-Calais)" which is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region of France at approximate Coordinates: 50°46′27″N 2°18′03″E. The two locations are 54.3 km apart. Also, as the sole crew fatality was buried in Belgium, it is possible that Blenheim L8744 actually crashed over the Belgian border, nearer to DePanne.

Sources:
Aviation Safety
The International Bomber Command Centre (IBCC)
Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC)
Aircrew Remembered
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