Base: Thorney Island
Take off time. Unknown
Op: Strike - Brest
Plane crashed in the entrance to Chichester Harbour, Sussex on return from Brest, killing the captain, P/O RFW Johnson RAF. Sgt's Abell and Andrews were injured but were rescued by boat. (The Other Few - Larry Donnelly). He also notes that 6 Blenheim's of 59 Sqn attacked Brest and claimed to have shot down a Do18.
According to the memoirs of Alec McCurdy, P/O Johnson and his crew had been posted to 59 Sqn only two days prior and this was their first sortie. McCurdy noted however that the mission was a 'Moon Patrol' not a strike on Brest. He noted the time of crash at 0420hrs.
 | Crew awarded the Battle of Britain Clasp - Although entitlement was revoked by the Air Ministry in 1960 (read more) |
One casualty: P/O RFW Johnson.
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During WWII, the RAF used three-letter codes to identify their aircraft from a distance. Two large letters were painted before the roundel, which signified the squadron to which the aircraft belonged, and another letter was painted after the roundel which indicated the individual aircraft. Aditionally, there was the individual serial number for each aircraft, which was painted in a much smaller size, usually somewhere at the rear of the aircraft: (more)
Codes used by RAF 59 Squadron:
PJ Sep 1938 - Sep 1939
TR Sep 1939 - Oct 1942
1 Aug 1943 - Jul 1944
WE Jul 1944 - Oct 1945
BY Oct 1945 - Jun 1946, Dec 1947 - Oct 1950