ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 227729
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| Date: | Wednesday 22 May 1940 |
| Time: | night |
| Type: |  Armstrong Whitworth Whitley B Mk V |
| Owner/operator: | 51 Sqn RAF |
| Registration: | P4980 |
| MSN: | AWA. 1701 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 5 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | 47877 Willich Anrath -
 Germany
|
| Phase: | Combat |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | RAF Dishforth, North Yorkshire |
| RAF Dishforth, North Yorkshire |
Armstrong Whitworth Whitley Mk.V P4980 (MH-L) 51 Squadron, RAF: Written off (destroyed) when lost (failed to return) from combat operations on the night of 21-22May 1940. All five crew survived, but one died much later. According to the official Air Ministry file on the incidnet (File AIR 81/470): "Whitley P4980 crashed near Krefeld, Germany, 22 May 1940. Sergeant T W Bowles: report of death. Aircraftman 1st Class J E W Stainer, Leading Aircraftman L J R Barber, Sergeant F C Collard and Sergeant G Raper, prisoners of war".
Whitley P4980 was airborne at 20:30 on 21 May 1940 from RAF Dishforth, North Yorkshire. Target reported as railway stations and junctions at Jülich, and/or Rheydt, Germany. Crashed at Krefeld, near the Rhine West of Mönchengladbach, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany in the early hours of the following morning (May 22). All five crew survived the incident, were captured and taken as PoWs.
Crew of Whitley P4980:
Sgt Thomas William Bowles (Pilot, RAF 564563, aged 26) survived injured; captured, taken as PoW. Confined to Hospital due to injuries sustained (No PoW number allocated)
Sgt G.Raper; survived, captured, and taken as PoW. Became PoW No.13062.
Sgt T.C.Collard survived, captured, and taken as PoW; Interned in PoW Camps 8B/L6/357 as PoW No.16784
LAC L.J.R.Barber survived, captured, and taken as PoW; Interned in PoW Camps L1/L6/357 as PoW No.37.
AC.1 T.E.Stainer survived, captured, and taken as PoW; Confined to Hospital due to injuries sustained (No PoW number allocated)
Sgt Thomas William Bowles, injured in the action, developed tuberculosis and died in captivity 26 April 1941. He is buried in the Berlin 1939-45 War Cemetery in Berlin, Germany.
Sources:
1. Royal Air Force Aircraft P1000-P9999 (James J Halley, Air Britain, 1978 p 27)
2. National Archives (PRO Kew) File AIR 81/470: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C14502000
3. http://www.epibreren.com/ww2/raf/51_squadron.html#212205
4. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2078797/bowles,-thomas-william/
5. https://internationalbcc.co.uk/losses/bowles-tw-%C2%A5/
6. https://www.baaa-acro.com/crash/crash-armstrong-whitworth-aw38-whitley-near-monchengladbach
Images:
Fam Sehbrock Anrath where the plane crashed behind the horse stable
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 29-Jul-2019 22:28 | Dr. John Smith | Added |
| 30-Jul-2019 10:31 | stehlik49 | Updated [Operator] |
| 27-Oct-2020 07:20 | Anon. | Updated [Location, Photo] |
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