Traces of World War 2 
RAF - 16 Squadron
10/05/1940 - 30/06/1940

      home - latest update 6 April 2008


16 SQUADRON - Army Co-Operation / Westland Lysander
50 Wing (No. 4, No. 13, No. 16 Squadrons)

History | Losses | Sources | Links | Books | Questions and/or remarks


At the start of the Second World War No. 16 Squadron was an Army Co-operation unit. Unlike many similar units, it remaining in Britain over the winter of 1939-40, only to move to France for training in April 1940.

The squadron was still in France in May 1940 when the Germans launched their attack in the west. After nine days of fighting, the unit was withdrawn to Britain.

With 4 Sqdn. and 13 Sqdn. 16 Sqdn. formed the 50 (Army Co-operation) Wing, under command of Group Captain A.R. Churchman; HQ in Athies.

April 1939-October 1940: Westland Lysander II

Motto: Operta aperta - Hidden things are revealed (a reference to the reconnaissance role of the Squadron).
Squadron Code: UG

DEXTER, Peter Grenfell, P/O (41680, Royal Air Force) - No.16 Squadron - awarded as per London Gazette dated 23 July 1940. Public Record Office Air 2/6075 has citation.

"This pilot skilfully manoeuvred his aircraft for 35 minutes when attacked by nine hostile fighters on 21st May 1940. He brought down one enemy aircraft with his front gun and enabled his gunner to shoot down another. Despite his aircraft being badly damaged, the rudder being half shot away by cannon, Pilot Officer Dexter managed to return to his base and land safely."

DUDGEON, Peter William Archdale, P/O (70934, Royal Air Force) - No.16 Squadron - awarded as per London Gazette dated 23 July 1940. Public Record Office Air 2/6075 has citation.

"In spite of heavy anti-aircraft fire, this officer pressed home a bombing attack on transport on the road south of Boulogne on 22nd May 1940. The aileron control was shot away, and the aircraft was almost unflyable, but by great skill and coolness, he managed to return to this unit. He has shown great energy, keenness and drive."

Flight Lieutenant (pilot) Arthur Roy Densham (RAF 41157), Photographic Reconnaissance Unit, was reported killed in action on 27/03/1942. He trained as a pilot in 1938, and in Sept 1939 was posted to 16 Squadron, flying Lysanders. From somewhere in the south of England, he flew reconnaissance missions over Northern France and the low countries.

CO: W/C T. Humble

Stations
10/05/1940: Bertangles, France
19/05/1940: Lympne, UK


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Losses and missions 10/05/1940 - 30/06/1940
Not all operations listed; those with losses are.

17/05/1940: Tactical Reconnaissance, F. 1 Plane lost, 1 KIA. 1 MIA
18/05/1940: Tactical Reconnaissance, F. 1 Plane lost, 2 KIA
19/05/1940
: Tactical Reconnaissance, F/B. 2 Planes lost, 2 MIA, 1 WIA
21/05/1940
: Arras, Cambrai and Amiens, F. 1 Plane damaged
22/05/1940: Supply drop, Calais, F
26/05/1940: ?, UK. 1 Plane lost (?), 1 KIA
27/05/1940
: Supply Drop, Calais, F. 1 Plane lost, 2 WIA
28/05/1940: Reconnaissance, F. 1 Plane lost, 2 KIA
31/05/1940: Tactical Reconnaisance, F. 2 Planes lost, 1 KIA
, 3 MIA

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17/05/1940: Tactical Reconnaissance, F

Type: Westland Lysander II
Serial number: L4796, KJ-?
Operation: Tactical Reconnaissance, F
Lost: 17/05/1940
Pilot Officer [Pilot] Leslie M. Hamilton, RAFVR 76906, 16 Sqdn., age 35, 17/05/1940, missing - Runnymede Memorial
Leading Aircraftman [Air Gunner] John P. O'Reilly, RAF 535507, 16 Sqdn., age 20, 17/05/1940, Doingt Communal Cemetery Extension, F
Took off from Bertangles, France. Failed to return from tactical reconnaisance over St. Quentin 14.30 hrs. Believed to have crashed near Doingt, south-east of Péronne.

Sources: CWGC and Peter D. Cornwell, The Battle of France, Then and Now, 2008

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18/05/1940: Tactical Reconnaissance, F

Type: Westland Lysander II
Serial number: ?, KJ-?
Operation: Tactical Reconnaissance
Lost: 18/05/1940
Flying Officer (Pilot) Thomas W. Walker, RAF (RAFO) 71008, 16 Sqdn., age 32, 18/05/1940, Creil Communal Cemetery, F
Corporal (W. Op.) Eric T. Baillie, RAF 507775, 16 Sqdn., age 31, 18/05/1940, Creil Communal Cemetery, F
Took off from Bertangles, France. Failed to return from tactical reconnaisance over St. Quentin and crashed near Creil. Possibly that claimed by Oberfw Schmid of 1./JG2 over Beauvais, 08.15 hrs.

Sources: CWGC and Peter D. Cornwell, The Battle of France, Then and Now, 2008

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19/05/1940: Tactical Reconnaissance, F/B

Type: Westland Lysander II
Serial number: ?, KJ-?
Operation: Tactical Reconnaissance
Lost: 19/05/1940
Flying Officer Andrew P. Reed, 25132, 16 Sqdn., age 27, 19/05/1940, missing
Pilot Officer Ian Dromgoole, RAF 42461, 16 Sqdn., age 25, 19/05/1940, missing
Possibly shot down by Hptmn Schellmann (Gruppenkommandeur) of Stab II./JG2 west of Tournai (Doornik). The crewmembers are commemorated on the Runnymede Memorial

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Type: Westland Lysander II
Serial number: ?, KJ-?
Operation: Tactical Reconnaissance
Lost: 19/05/1940
P/O Hughes, wounded
Air Gunner: ?
Forced-landed damaged by fighters during tactical reconnaissance. Possibly attacked by Fw Kothmann of 2./JG27 near St. Quentin, 05.05 hrs. Aircraft a write-off

Sources: CWGC and Peter D. Cornwell, The Battle of France, Then and Now, 2008

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21/05/1940: Arras, Cambrai and Amiens, F

Type: Westland Lysander
Serial number: L4793, KJ-?
Operation: Arras, Cambrai and Amiens
Damaged: 21/05/1940
P/O Dexter - Safe
LAC Webb - Safe
Took off from Lympne, UK. Returned with tail and rudder badly damaged by Me 109's during sortie to Arras, Cambrai and Amiens, 18.45 hrs. Possibly attacked by Uffz Lehmann of 2./JG51 near St-Pol-sur-Ternoise. Aircraft repairable.

Source: Peter D. Cornwell, The Battle of France, Then and Now, 2008


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22/05/1940: supply drop, Calais, F

7 Westland Lysanders of No.16 Squadron Army Co-Operation Command drop supplies to a besieged Allied garrison at Calais.

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26/05/1940: ?

Type: Westland Lysander
Serial number: ?, KJ-?
Operation: ?
Lost (?): 26/05/1940
P/O Hall - believed unhurt.
Aircraftman 1st Class [Air Gunner] Harold G. Littlewood, RAF 630251, 16 Sqdn., age 18, 26/05/1940, Hawkinge Cemetery, UK
Took off from Lympne. Attacked by P/O Stephen, F/Sgt Mayne and p/O Cobden of No. 74 Squadron between Bourbourg and Bergues. Crash-landed on return 19.45 hrs. Aircraft damage state not recorded.

Sources: CWGC and Peter D. Cornwell, The Battle of France, Then and Now, 2008

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27/05/1940: Supply Drop, Calais

Type: Westland Lysander
Serial number: P1685, KJ-?
Operation: Supply Drop, Calais
Lost: 27/05/1940
F/Lt G.R. Shepley - wounded
Cpl Jones - wounded
Badly damaged by Flak during supply drop at Calais. Crashed on return 05.45 hrs. Aircraft a write-off.

Source: Peter D. Cornwell, The Battle of France, Then and Now, 2008

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28/05/1940: Reconnaissance, F

Type: Westland Lysander II
Serial number: P1720, KJ-?
Operation: Reconnaissance
Lost: 28/05/1940
Flight Lieutenant (Pilot) William R. Clapham, RAF 25077, 16 Sqdn., Mentioned in Despatches, age 29, 28/05/1940, Longuenesse (St. Omer) Souvenir Cemetery, F
Sergeant (Air Gnr.) Roy Ernest Brown, RAF 566296, 16 Sqdn., age 23, 28/05/1940, Longuenesse (St. Omer) Souvenir Cemetery, F
Believed shot down by ground fire and crashed near Longuenesse 07.45 hrs. A relative of Sgt Brown states that the bodies from the crash were discovered by a French garage owner who buried the two crewmen and tended the graves until they were moved to the Longuenesse (St. Omer) Souvenir Cemetery in the late 40's.

Sources:
CWGC and Peter D. Cornwell, The Battle of France, Then and Now, 2008

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31/05/1940: Tactical Reconnaisance, F

Type: Westland Lysander II
Serial number: P9127, KJ-?
Operation: Tactical Reconnaisance
Lost: 31/05/1940
Flight Lieutenant (Pilot) George R. Shepley, RAF (RAFO) 37577, 16 Sqdn., DFC, age 28, 31/05/1940, Pihen-les-Guines War Cemetery, F
Pilot Officer Charles J.F. Hare, RAFVR 76908, 16 Sqdn., age 31, 31/05/1940, missing
Took off 11.00 hrs from Lympne, tasked to search for bombing targets and observation of own troops. A/C failed to return. Believed that claimed by Fw Witzel of 6./JG27 over Dunkirk 12.30 hrs. Crashed near Pihen-lès-Guines. One source stated that it was shot down by RAF fighters.

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T
ype: Westland Lysander
Serial number: L4793, KJ-?
Operation: Reconnaisance?
Lost: 31/05/1940
Pilot Officer Guy W.V. Biden, RAF 77778, 16 Sqdn., age unknown, 31/05/1940, missing
Sergeant Alfred Beard, RAF 628185, 16 Sqdn., age 18, 31/05/1940, missing
Shot down by Major Freiherr von Berg (Gruppenkommandeur) of Stab III./JG26 and crashed in Channel between Dunkirk and Nieuport (Nieuwpoort) 19.20 hrs.

Sources: CWGC and Peter D. Cornwell, The Battle of France, Then and Now, 2008

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Sources

British Military Aviation in 1940 (RAF Museum)
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
Pilotfriend - Westland Lysander
Rickard, J (16 May 2007), No. 16 Squadron (RAF): Second World War
RAF - Campaign Diary - The Battle of France (May-June 1940)
RAF Museum: British Military Aviation in 1940
RAF Order of Battle, France, 10th May 1940
Royal Air Force History Section
The Royal Air Force, 1939-1945
The Second World War - a day by day account

The War in France and Flanders, 1939-1940, by Major L.F. Ellis, 1954

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Books

Peter D. Cornwell, The Battle of France, Then and Now, 2008

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Links

History of War - Wartime Pictures - Westland Lysander

Discussion Groups
Luftwaffe and Allied Air Forces Discussion Forum
RAF Commands Forum

Other
Abbreviations used in the Royal Air Force
Code Names & RAF Vocabulary

Air Aces
Airwar over Denmark
Allied World War II Casualties in the Netherlands
Armée de l'Air - Order of Battle, 10th May 1940
Australian Wargraves
Axis History Factbook
Battle-of-Britain.com
De Belgen in Engeland 1940-1945 (in Dutch)
Belgian Aviation History Association Archaeological Team
Biplane Fighter Aces from the Second World War
The Bristol & District Blitz War Memorial - A register of those who lost their lives due to enemy action in Bristol and surrounding districts, 1940-1944
British Aircraft Directory
British Aviation Archaeological Council - Books and research links
Canada's Air Force History
HMS Cavalier
Ciel de Gloire (in French) RAF Squadrons
CWGC Cemeteries Germany
CWGC Cemeteries Netherlands
Czechoslovak airmen in the RAF 1940-1945
Danish WW2 Pilots
Dutch Pilots in RAF Squadrons
Eagles Squadrons (American pilots in the RAF)
Foreign Aircraft Landings in Ireland 1939-1946
'High flight', poem by John Gillespie Magee
An Irish Airman Foresees His Death, poem by W.B. Yeats
Jagdgeschwader 27 (in German)
Luchtoorlog ('Arial War', in Dutch, with many photos)
Land Forces of Britain, the Empire and Commonwealth
The Luftwaffe, 1933-1945
Luftwaffe and Allied Air Forces Discussion Forum
The National Ex-Prisoners of War Association
Naval History.net
Nordic Aviation during WW2
Order of Liberation (in French/English/Spanish)
Pilotfriend.com: aircraft of WW2
Polish Air Force 1940-1947 Operations Record Books
RAF Battle of Britain
RAF Upwood
RAF WWII 38 Group Squadrons Reunited
De Slag om de Grebbeberg (Dutch)
Test Flying Memorial
Warbird Alley
War over Holland
World War II Aircraft wrecksites in Norway
www.bomber-command.de

Aircraft crashes on the North Yorkshire Moors, England
Bills-Bunker.de
The Lancastershire Aircraft Investigation Team
Luftfahrt-Archäologie in Schleswig Holstein (in German)
North East Diary 1939-1945
Wartime Leicester and Leicestershire

The Aerodrome - Aces and Aircraft of World War 1
WW1 Cemeteries



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These pages are dedicated to the men of 16 Squadron who died during World War II.

© Bart FM Droog / Rottend Staal Online 2007-2008. Permission granted for use of the data gathered here for non commercial purposes, if this source is mentioned with a link to http://www.epibreren.com/ww2/raf/index.html