Battle K-9390

[Alain12]

Hello ,

On may 10 1940 a Battle I K-9390 from 150Sqn JN-I crashlanded near Gosselies Belgium .The crew was safe , can someone help me with the firstnames of the crewmembers ?
Sgt de White R.A.C - Sgt Booth C.W.K. - LAC Burrows R.H. Regards Alain12

[COL BRUGGY]

Hi Alain,

White awarded a DFM:

580094 Sgt Raymond Arthur Cecil de Courcy WHITE 150 Sqn. 16-7-1940

Likewise, Burrows:

551689 Sgt Robert Henley BURROWS No.150 Sqn. 16-8-1940

White was flying Battle L5539 on 10-5-1940 (See BoFT&N/Cornwell p.183).

The crew of K9390 were:

F/Lt Eric Parker +
Sgt J Whalley PoW (Captured unhurt)
Cpl R K Rye PoW (Captured wounded)

Same ref.

Col.

[Alain12]

Hi Col Bruggy,

Thanks for the reply , was i wrong about the crew ?
Alain12

[COL BRUGGY]

Hello,

10-5-1940
No.150 Sqn. ECURY-SUR-COOLE
Battle L5539

Glycol and petrol tanks holed by ground-fire during low-level bombing of enemy column five miles west of Grevenmacher, and force-landed 10 miles west of Thionville. 4.30 p.m.

Sgt R. A. de C. White
Sgt C. W. K. Booth
LAC R. H. Burrows

All unhurt.

Aircraft a write-off

Col.

[Alain12]

Hi Col ,

So K9390 did not crashlanded in Belgium , but in France .

Regards
Alain12

[PW63]

Hello

I was very interested to read this thread as Sgt R. A. White was my father. He died back in 1983, and never spoke much about his war service and certainly never told me he was shot down. You do not say below that he was captured so did he somehow make it back to England and if so how?

[Martin Gleeson]

Hallo,
.
It seems clear from many sources including published and E-Bay photos that K9390 crash-landed in Luxembourg, on the western edge of Luxembourg City. At least one photo taken by German soldiers of this aircraft is marked on the back as "Luxembourg" and dated "10 Mai 1940". Unfortunately several other photographs confirm the presence of the body of one of the crew beside the Battle. This has to be F/Lt. Eric Parker, the pilot of K9390. The other two crew members were captured.
.
Battle L5539 force-landed 10 miles west of Thionville in France after the same bombing raid inside Luxembourg. This was in Allied-held territory and explains why the crew of White/Booth/Burrows were not made POWs. So neither aircraft came down in Belgium.
.
The above came from a variety of sources including; 'The Battle of France, Then and Now' by Peter Cornwell, E-Bay photographs, maps and Wikipedia (for locating placenames !).
.
PW63 (Peter/Paul/Patrick ?)
Delighted to see you posting here. Like many others I am very interested in Fairey Battle crewmen and their exploits during 1939/1940. Could you please tell us a little more of your father's wartime and RAF career ? For example did he go on to fly Wellingtons with 150 Squadron ? Do you or any of your family have his Flying Logbook ? The entries in that should contain a wealth of information. I believe as a close family member one can apply to the RAF for a copy of his service record, for a fee.
.
Hope this helps,
.
Martin Gleeson.