Bristol Blenheim MkIV R3896, Dudzele, Belgium - Plane Crash Sites on Waymarking.com

On 7 July 1940, this aircraft flew out of Alconbury near RAF Wyton on an operation to Ghent and crashed into the Bruges-Zeebrugge Canal, Dudzele near Bruges after being shot down by a Messerchmitt Bf109E of the ‘Grünherz’. According to a German source, roughly translated:

"On 7.7.1940 at 6 p.m. I was told by the tower guard that there was fire in the direction of Ghent Flak. With strong binoculars I could see that a plane was being shot at that flew in the direction of Ghent-Knokke. When Knokke also opened fire, the plane bowed and flew towards Ostend. As a result, it partly left the protection of the cloud cover and it was clearly visible. In the meantime, two hunters had also appeared to record the chase. Apparently the enemy pilot had not noticed this yet, because suddenly it turned to the left, towards Bruges.

The Flak stationed here immediately opened fire without allowing the machine to be influenced. She glided to carry out an attack on the gas company present here. She dropped two jump bombs and two fire bombs. The first fell into the garden of the gas company. A gas meter with 1200 cubic meters of gas was hit by bomb splinters. This caused gas to flow out in the form of a flash flame. Four fire bombs fell in a nearby place where a horse was killed. No further damage was caused.

During the attack, the enemy machine shot with machine gun fire. After the bombs were dropped, the aircraft turned and flew in the direction of the Sea Canal (now known as the Baudouin Canal) towards the coast. In the meantime, both hunters were on site and immediately seated themselves behind the bomber. Shortly thereafter, black clouds of smoke appeared behind the machine and crashed. The crash site is in the vicinity of the village of Dudzele.

The bomber fell in the immediate vicinity of two ships loaded with powder. The machine and the corpse patches showed that the machine was completely destroyed. 2 corpses were recovered on Monday. An identity card of an English crew member was found by skippers and issued to the “Dienststelle” (Service). The pass was passed on to the Feldkommandatur with a message."

The three who died were:
RAF 42375 Pilot Officer Hugh Christopher Morris Bamber (Pilot) aged 19
RAF 746818 Sgt George Reid (Wireless Op./Air Gunner) aged 28
RAF 749458 Sgt John Holdsworth (Observer)

All three crew fatalities were buried at Brugge General Cemetery West-Vlaanderen, Belgium

Web Address for Related Web Sites: [Web Link] Date of Crash: 07/07/1940 Aircraft Model: Bristol blenheim MkIV Military or Civilian: Military Tail Number: R3896 Cause of Crash: Shot by German gun fire

Visit Instructions:
Only log waymarks if you have visited the site personally.

Recent Visits/Logs:

There are no logs for this waymark yet.