Date:	Thursday 14 December 1939
Time:
Type:	Vickers Wellington Mk IA
Owner/operator:	99 Sqn RAF
Registration:	N2870
MSN:	LN-B
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 6 / Occupants: 6
Other fatalities:	6
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	Sea off Wangerooge Island, Lower Saxony -   Germany
Phase:	Combat
Nature:	Military
Departure airport:	RAF Newmarket, Suffolk
Destination airport:
Confidence Rating:	Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources

Narrative:
Vickers Wellington Mk.1a N2870, (LN-B) of 99 Squadron, RAF: Took off from RAF Newmarket, Suffolk at 11:43. Destroyed in a Mid-air collision with Wellington N2911 off Wangerooge Island, Lower Saxony, while trying to escape fighters during raid on Helgoland and Wilhelmshaven. Both aircraft crashed, killing all twelve crew (six in each aircraft)

Crew of Wellington N2870
40399 Pilot Officer Norman Leonard Lewis (South Africa) - Runnymede Memorial Panel 1.
580342 Sgt Harvey Hulme - Runnymede Memorial Panel 2.
580817 Sgt William James Atkins - Runnymede Memorial Panel 1.
523569 AC.1 Rolf Heywood - Runnymede Memorial Panel 2.
523436 Corporal Thomas Hunter - Runnymede Memorial Panel 2.
567346 AC.1 Charles Watson - Runnymede Memorial Panel 3.

The official Air Ministry file on the incident (File AIR 81/57) states "missing presumed dead; Wellington N2870 failed to return from an operational flight, believed to have crashed at sea, 14 December 1939"

1. James J. Halley, Air Britain: RAF Aircraft L1000 - N9999, published 1991
2. National Archives (PRO Kew) File Air 81/57: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C14142174
3. Bomber Command 1939-1940: The War before the War By Gordon Thorburn p 86
4. Wimpy: A Detailed History of the Vickers Wellington in service, 1938-1953 By Steve Bond p 36
5. Flying into the Storm: RAF Bombers at War 1939-1942 By Chris Sams
6. https://www.baaa-acro.com/crash/crash-vickers-408-wellington-ia-wangerooge-island-6-killed
7. http://www.bomber-command.info/c99wellloss.htm
8. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/1803401/lewis,-norman-leonard/
9. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/1800721/hulme,-harvey/
10. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/1083052/atkins,-william-james/
11. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/1800037/heywood,-rolf/
12. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/1800802/hunter,-thomas/
13. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/1809748/watson,-charles/

Other occurrences involving this aircraft

4 July 1941	T2984	99 Sqn RAF	3	near Molenbeersel, Kinrooi, Limburg		w/o
17 August 1941	X9700	99 Sqn RAF	5	Ophoven hamlet, Roggel, Limburg		w/o

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
02-Jan-2012 11:20	Uli Elch	Added
02-Jan-2012 11:27	Uli Elch	Updated [Narrative]
28-Mar-2019 17:44	Anon.	Updated [Cn, Narrative]
04-Jun-2019 17:33	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Cn, Operator, Location, Departure airport, Source, Narrative]
04-Jun-2019 17:38	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Source, Narrative]
04-Jun-2019 17:39	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Source]
04-Jun-2019 17:40	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Narrative]
08-Jun-2019 09:41	stehlik49	Updated [Operator]