On 3 September 1939 Pilot Officer John Noel Isaac of No.600 Squadron became the first Briton to die in the Second World War when his Bristol Blenheim Mk I-F L1164 stalled during a single-engine approach to Hendon, the aircraft crashed into Heading Street in Hendon at 1250hrs, 1 hour 50 minutes after the British declaration of war. Name: ISAAC, JOHN NOEL LAUGHTON Initials: J N L Nationality: United Kingdom Rank: Pilot Officer Regiment/Service: Royal Air Force Unit Text: 600 Sqdn. Age: 28 Date of Death: 03/09/1939 Service No: 90721 Additional information: Son of Wilfrid John and Rosalind Mary Isaac, of Cardiff. B.A. (Oxon.); Solicitor. Casualty Type: Commonwealth War Dead Grave/Memorial Reference: Panel 2. Cemetery: GOLDERS GREEN CREMATORIUM
Peter - do you know who the first RAF servicemen to be killed in action, rather than in a crash or accident, was, and when/where it was? We had a thread about the first army casualty (?KSLI in December 1939) - but I can't find it!
Peter - do you know who the first RAF servicemen to be killed in action, rather than in a crash or accident, was, and when/where it was? We had a thread about the first army casualty (?KSLI in December 1939) - but I can't find it! I stand to be corrected on this Paul, but this chap seems to be the first RAF loss........ 4 September 1939 Following a reconnaissance sortie by Flying Officer McPherson, fourteen Vickers Wellingtons of No.9 and No.149 Squadrons and fifteen Bristol Blenheims of Nos. 107, 110 and 139 Squadrons are despatched to attack German warships at Brunsbüttel, Wilhelmshaven and the Schillig Roads. However, five aircraft of each type do not locate their targets. Ten Blenheims from No.107 and No.110 Squadrons attack the pocket battleship Admiral Scheer and the cruiser Emden in Wilhemshaven. Three bombs hit the Scheer but fail to explode. By a peculiar twist of fate a Blenheim piloted by Flying Officer H.L. Emden crashes on the deck of the cruiser of the same name. Name: EMDEN, HENRY LOVELL Initials: H L Nationality: United Kingdom Rank: Flying Officer (Pilot) Regiment/Service: Royal Air Force Unit Text: 110 Sqdn. Date of Death: 04/09/1939 Service No: 36138 Additional information: Husband of Jocelyn Mary Emden, of St. Leonards-on-Sea, Sussex. Casualty Type: Commonwealth War Dead Grave/Memorial Reference: 4. B. 12. Cemetery: SAGE WAR CEMETERY
Another first for the RAF Sergeant George Booth, an observer with No.107 Squadron becomes the first British Prisoner of War when his Bristol Blenheim is shot down over the German coast on 4 September 1939.
Another first for the RAF Sergeant George Booth, an observer with No.107 Squadron becomes the first British Prisoner of War when his Bristol Blenheim is shot down over the German coast on 4 September 1939. Talk about unlucky, the whole war behind the wire. Did he survive the war? Do we know anymore about him?
Talk about unlucky, the whole war behind the wire. Did he survive the war? Do we know anymore about him? There were in fact two airmen from Bomber Command who became the first POWs. 3-4 September 1939 107 Squadron. Blenheim IV N6240. Op: Wilhelmshaven. Crew Sgt. A S. Price + Sgt. G F. Booth pow. AC1. L J. Slattery pow. The aircraft took off from Wattisham at 1600 hrs and was shot down in the target area. Both Sgt. Booth and AC1. Slattery becoming the first pows, and while in captivity both were promoted to W/O.
By a peculiar twist of fate a Blenheim piloted by Flying Officer H.L. Emden crashes on the deck of the cruiser of the same name. I've only just noticed that bit. How strange.
The first Australian to be killed in action was Wing Commander Ivan McLeod Cameron, who was serving with Britain's Royal Air Force (RAF) at the outbreak of war. Wing Commander Cameron, 110 Squadron RAF, was on a reconnaissance flight over Germany on 28 September 1939 when his Bristol Blenheim bomber, serial N6212, was intercepted and shot down by a German pilot, Feldwebel Klaus Faber, of l/JG I, Luftwaffe. The Blenheim crashed near Kiel, Germany. Wing Commander Cameron is buried at Reichswald Forest Cemetery, Kleve in Germany.
On 3 September 1939 a Bristol Blenheim IV (N6215) of No.139 Squadron is the first Royal Air Force aircraft to cross the German frontier after war is declared. Between 1200hrs and 1650hrs the Blenheim, flown by Flying Officer A. McPherson, carries out a photographic and visual reconnaissance of German naval ports. Although the crew, which includes a naval observer, Commander Thompson, sight a number of warships in the Schillig Roads off Wilhelmshaven, their radio is unserviceable and they are unable to report until they return to Wyton. Flying Officer McPherson is subsequently awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross.
while in captivity both were promoted to W/O.[/quote] Prewar, many aircrew were AC1's, LAC's, Corporals, etc., and had other 'ground' trades. When taken POW's they had to work for their living (which didn't apply to Senior NCO's). So, the few lower rankers (I said rankers!) in Luft camps were soon promoted to Senior NCO's. At cessation of hostilities,when many Sgt Pilots were grounded as redundant, they reverted to 'General Duties' status, many being retrained as Drivers MT.
