ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 21489
This information is added by users of ASN. Neither ASN nor the Flight Safety Foundation are responsible for the completeness or correctness of this information.
If you feel this information is incomplete or incorrect, you can submit corrected information.
| Date: | Monday 15 July 1940 |
| Time: | night |
| Type: |  Vickers Wellington Mk IC |
| Owner/operator: | 37 Sqn RAF |
| Registration: | L7792 |
| MSN: | LF-L |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 3 / Occupants: 5 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | Beckedorf, Osterholz, in Lower Saxony -
 Germany
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | RAF Feltwell, Thetford, Norfolk |
| RAF Feltwell, Thetford, Norfolk |
Vickers Wellington Mk.1c L7792 (LF-L) 37 Squadron, RAF: Written off (presumed destroyed) when lost (Failed To Return) from combat operations over Germany. Three of the five crew were killed, two survived to be captured, and taken as PoWs. One was killed in 1944 after escaping from a PoW camp. According to the official Air Ministry file into the incident (Air Ministry file AIR 81/1121): "Wellington L7792 crashed at Beckedorf, Germany, 14 July 1940. Sergeant J F MacCauley, Sergeant C E Read, Sergeant S C Kirkbride: report of deaths. Sergeant G J W Grimson and Sergeant T Johnson: prisoners of war. Sergeant G J W Grimson later reclassified as missing presumed dead after several attempts to escape".
Took off from Feltwell, Norfolk, 22:00 on 14 July 1940 with the invasion barges in the dockyards of the German port of Hamburg as the target. Failed to return. Three of the crew of five were killed, two taken as PoW. According to the following extract from the the biography of George Grimson, one of the crew (see link #7 for his full biography):
"George Grimson was the wireless operator aboard a No. 37 Squadron RAF Vickers Wellington (serial number "L7792") squadron codes "LF-L" which was shot down on 15 July 1940 during a raid on barges in the dockyards of the German port of Hamburg by the anti-aircraft defences over Bremen. He was one of only two survivors who baled out before the bomber exploded.
Allocated prisoner of war number 134, George Grimson passed through Luftwaffe interrogation centre Dulag Luft, before being sent to Stalag Luft I at Barth, Stalag VIIIb, Lamsdorf and back to Barth before finally being sent to Stalag Luft III"
Crew of Wellington L7792:
Pilot: Sgt 564908 John Francis McCauley aged 25 RAF killed.
Pilot:Sgt 566117 Sydney Chapman Kirkbride aged 24 RAF killed.
Observer:Sgt 580828 Charles Edward Read aged 20 RAF killed.
Sgt 621438 T. Johnson RAF - survived captured, taken as PoW. Became PoW No.438.
Sgt 631689 George John William Grimson RAF - survived, captured, taken as a PoW. Became PoW No.134. A persistent escapee from PoW camps, he was promoted to a Warrant Officer while in captivity, and was constantly hunted by the Gestapo agents of SS-Obersturmbannführer Dr. Günther Venediger, while "on the run"; a price was placed on his head and wanted posters printed. He was last seen on 14 April 1944 in the Danzig area and was probably seized by the Gestapo, disappearing in captivity, probably having been captured and murdered by the SS. Body not found/not recovered, and he is commemorated on the Runnymede Memorial.
All three crew killed on 15 July 1940 were interred at New Aumund Cemetery. After the War they were re-interred at Becklingen War Cemetery, Germany. The reported crash location of Beckedorf is a municipality in the district of Osterholz, in Lower Saxony, Germany, at approximate Coordinates: 53.196329N, 8.602176E
Sources:
1. Royal Air Force Aircraft L1000-L9999 (James J Halley, Air Britain, 1978)
2. National Archives (PRO Kew) File AIR 81/1121: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C14502933
3. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2199385/mccauley,-john-francis/
4. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2199284/kirkbride,-sydney-chapman/
5. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2389730/read,-charles-edward/
6. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/1798931/grimson,-george-john-william/
7. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Grimson
8. http://aircrewremembered.com/mccauley-john-francis.html
9. http://www.oldhaltonians.co.uk/pages/rememb/ROH/22.htm
10. https://www.baaa-acro.com/crash/crash-vickers-416-wellington-ic-hamburg-3-killed
History of this aircraft
Other occurrences involving this aircraft
| 25 November 1941 | Z8798 | 37 Sqn RAF | 0 | 80 km east of Benghazi |  |
w/o |
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 26-Jun-2008 14:36 | JINX | Added |
| 01-Jul-2009 11:49 | TOPCAT | Updated |
| 09-Jan-2012 07:34 | Nepa | Updated [Operator, Source, Narrative] |
| 19-Jul-2012 14:01 | Charlie B?E | Updated [Country, Source] |
| 09-Mar-2013 18:47 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Location, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative] |
| 21-Aug-2013 09:19 | JINX | Updated [Aircraft type, Operator, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source] |
| 19-May-2014 18:22 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Location, Country, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source] |
| 27-Apr-2015 18:57 | ABBA | Updated [Aircraft type, Operator, Narrative] |
| 15-Oct-2019 21:28 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Time, Cn, Location, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative] |
| 16-Oct-2019 12:21 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Location, Narrative] |
| 30-May-2020 14:41 | Jabo | Updated [Location, Narrative] |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
The Aviation Safety Network is an exclusive service provided by:
Quick Links:
| ASN Home | Send Correction / Feedback |
| FSF Home | Disclaimer | Copyright |
| Contact Us | Privacy Policy |
| Press / Media |
CONNECT WITH US:
©2024 Flight Safety Foundation