Date:	Tuesday 20 February 1940
Time:	night
Type:	Vickers Wellington Mk IA
Owner/operator:	99 Sqn RAF
Registration:	N3004
MSN:	LN-E
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 6
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	Sauvenière near Gembloux, 16 km NW Namur -   Belgium
Phase:	Landing
Nature:	Military
Departure airport:	RAF Newmarket, Suffolk
Destination airport:

Narrative:
Vickers Wellington Mk.1a N3004 (LN-E) of 99 Sqaudron. Lost on combat operations 20 February 1940. Took off from RAF Newmarket at 17:13 hours. Mission: "Nickelling" (Leaflet dropping raid) target Hamburg, Germany; Force-landed at Sauvenière near Gembloux, 16 km North West of Namur, Belgium.

Assuming they were on German soil, the crew in vain tried to set the airplane on fire. After being apprehended, they were imprisoned at the Fortress II barracks near Antwerp, from which they would 'escape' shortly afterwards, along with all British crews held there at the time.

Crew:-
Pilot : Flying Officer Owen Lloyd Williams RAF 39091 [PoW, repatriated]
2nd Pilot : Pilot Officer Robert Andrew Grover Willis RAF 41766 : Commission Gazetted Tuesday 31 October, 1939) [Interned, repatriated]
Crew : Aircraftman 2nd Class C G Ashman RAF [Interned, repatriated]
Crew : Aircraftman 2nd Class W Cockburn RAF [Interned, repatriated]
Crew : Sergeant Arthur Reginald Mattick RAF 580787 [Injured, repatriated]
Crew : Pilot Officer James Sampson Trotter RAF 75699 : Commission Gazetted Tuesday 28 November, 1939) [Injured, repatriated]

According to one published source (see link #3): "The Luftwaffe sent some Messerschmitt Bf 109s into the air to intercept the invaders, and Oberfeldwebel Hermann Förster (II/(Nacht)/JG 2) claimed to have brought one down - it was the Night Hunter's first victory." It is not clear if the claim was against Wellington N3004 or another RAF aircraft. However, it is possible that N3004 was damaged in the encounter, making it imperative to force land in (then neutral) Belgium.

NOTE: Some published sources list Wellington N3004 as code "LN-I", but photographic evidence (see link #3) proves the code to be "LN-E"

1. James J Halley, Air-Britain Royal Air Force Aircraft L1000-N9999
2. National Archives (PRO Kew) File AIR 81/93: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C14141915
3. https://www.luchtvaartgeschiedenis.be/content/wellington-n3004-bij-gembloux
4. https://www.baaa-acro.com/crash/crash-vickers-408-wellington-ia-sauveniere
5. https://harringtonmuseum.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Aircraft-lost-on-Allied-Forces-Special-Duty-Operations.pdf
6. 3 Group Bomber Command By Chris Ward p 6
7. http://www.belgian-wings.be/Webpages/Navigator/Belgian_Aviation_History/interbellum/ThePhoneyWar%2002.htm
8. Rob Davis Bomber Command Losses Database

Other occurrences involving this aircraft

14 December 1939	N2911	99 Sqn RAF	6	Sea, off Wangerooge Island, Lower Saxony		w/o
Mid-air collision
3 March 1940	N3006	99 Sqn RAF	6	Chalk Hill, Barton Mills, Suffolk		w/o

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
04-Feb-2011 13:28	ThW	Added
29-Dec-2011 13:26	Uli Elch	Updated [Aircraft type, Operator, Narrative]
29-Dec-2011 13:30	Uli Elch	Updated [Operator, Location, Source, Narrative]
09-Jan-2012 07:20	Nepa	Updated [Aircraft type, Operator, Departure airport]
07-Jun-2013 14:02	Nepa	Updated [Aircraft type, Operator, Departure airport, Narrative]
21-Aug-2013 09:15	JINX	Updated [Aircraft type, Operator, Departure airport, Source]
02-Feb-2015 16:39	Fuxs	Updated [Aircraft type, Operator]
06-Jun-2019 02:59	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Time, Cn, Location, Departure airport, Source, Narrative]
23-Feb-2024 07:55	Rob Davis	Updated [Source, Narrative]