206 SQUADRON - Bomber, Lockheed Hudson and Avro Anson
Coastal Command
History | Operations and losses | Sources | Links | Books | Questions and/or remarks
With the outbreak of the Second World War the Squadron consisted of 24 aircraft, some of which were the Anson and some the Lockheed Hudson.
The first Allied officer to fall into German hands was a New Zealand RAF airman who was shot down over the North Sea on 5 September 1939 - shortly after war was declared. Flying Officer Laurence Hugh Edwards was on a reconnaissance flight in an Anson aircraft of 206 Squadron when he fell prey to two German Bv 138 flying boats. The three other crew of the Anson, Sergeant Alexander O. Heslop [9 Sqdn.], Aircraftman 1st Class Geoffrey Sheffield and Leading Aircraftman John Quilter, were killed in the attack. The enemy aircraft landed alongside the wreckage floating in the sea and took Edwards prisoner.
In early 1940, the unit converted to Hudsons and moved in July to St Eval to patrol the south-west approaches. Hudsons assisted in the Norwegian campaign and in the evacuation of Dunkirk.
New Zealand airmen with the Blenheim and Hudson squadrons of Coastal Command also took part in the raids against invasion ports and in the attacks on what were described as 'fringe targets'. They also flew reconnaissance patrols along the enemy-held coastline from Norway to the English Channel as far west as Brest. This watch on the ports from which invasion fleets might be expected to sail was of the greatest importance if early warning of the enemy's intentions was to be received.
The patrols were given vigorous code-names. One was called 'Bulldog'—a name that expressed the British determination at this time to hold out at all costs. Another was named 'Armada', with all its historic associations of the overthrow of a vast invading force. But the reconnaissance had to be carried out in the face of stiff enemy opposition, and many aircraft failed to return or came back badly battered after encounters with enemy fighters.
On one occasion Pilot Officer Raymond T. Kean (DFC; born Green Island, 5 Apr 1918; joined RAF Aug 1938; killed in flying accident, 5 Aug 1940), flying a Hudson of No. 206 Squadron on a dawn patrol off the Dutch coast, was attacked by three Messerschmitts. His rear gunner scored hits on the enemy leader but was almost immediately killed by fire from one of the other machines. The Hudson only escaped destruction through Kean's prompt action in diving to sea level and making violent turns and manoeuvres. Although wounded, he did this with such skill that the enemy finally ran out of ammunition and withdrew.Two years later, Fortress IIs arrived and No 206 moved to the Azores to provide convoy protection over a much greater area than had previously been available. The Squadron returned to the UK in April 1944 and converted to Liberators before taking up patrol duties over the Norwegian coastal areas, a task that the unit continued for the remainder of the War.
Photo of No. 206 Sqdn. Lockheed Hudson, april 1940.
Stations:
Bircham Newton - July 1936
St Eval - July 1941
Aldergrove - August 1941
Benbecula - July 1942
Whilst nominally stationed at these locations, the squadron operated detachments from a variety of other stations around the UK.
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Operations and losses 10/05/1940 - 30/06/1940 (incomplete)
Not all operations listed; those with losses are.
12/05/1940: Reconnaissance, North Sea. 1 Plane lost, 1 KIA, 3 MIA
18/05/1940: Hamburg, D. 2 Planes lost, 8 MIA
19/05/1940: Photo-Reconnaissance. 1 Plane lost, 4 MIA
20/05/1940: ground accident. 1 Plane lost, 1 KIA
22/05/1940: Reconnaissance. 1 Plane lost, 4 MIA
24/05/1940: Borkum/Ems, D
25/05/1940: Convoy. 1 Plane lost
20/06/1940: Patrol, UK. 1 Plane lost
21/06/1940: Den Helder, NL
28-29/06/1940: Reconnaissance. 1 Plane lost
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19/11/1940: Convoy duty, UK. 1 Plane lost, 3 KIA, 1 DOW
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Losses 01/01/1940 - 09/05/1940 (incomplete)
Leading Aircraftman (Air Gnr.) Ernest Townend, RAF 535545, 206 Sqdn., age 28, 03/05/1940, Great Bircham (St. Mary) Churchyard, UK
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12/05/1940: Reconnaissance, North Sea
Type: Lockheed Hudson I
Serial number: N7353, VX-?
Operation: Reconnaissance
Lost: 12/05/1940
Pilot Officer [Pilot] Ian L. Gray, RAF 36188 (New Zealand), age 21, 12/05/1940, missing. See his page on the Cenotaph Database for biography and picture.
Sergeant (Pilot) Montague Moore, RAF 565347, 206 Sqdn., age 26, 12/05/1940, Sage War Cemetery, D
Aircraftman 1st Class Benjamin Gill, RAF 621946, age unknown, 12/05/1940, missing
Leading Aircraftman Reginald J. Sloan, RAF 517038, 206 Sqdn., age unknown, 12/05/1940, missing
Took off 04.45 hrs from Bircham Newton. Shot down north of Baltrum off the coast of Germany by Oblt Emmerich of II(J)/TrGr 186.
The missing crew members are commemorated on the Runnymede Memorial.
Sources: CWGC and Ross McNeill, 'Royal Air Force Coastal Command Losses: Aircraft and Crew Losses 1939-1941 v. 1', Midland Publishing, 2003
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18/05/1940: Hamburg
Coastal Command carried out night bombing raids on oil installations at Bremen and Hamburg
Type: Lockheed Hudson I
Serial number: N7329, VX-?
Operation: Hamburg
Lost: 18/05/1940
Flight Sergeant [Pilot] Geoffrey A. Turner, RAF 564783, 206 Sqdn., age 25, 18/05/1940, missing
Sergeant Edward Abbott, RAF 564510, 206 Sqdn., age 25, 18/05/1940, missing
Aircraftman 1st Class Walter A. Tomlinson, RAF 550609, 206 Sqdn., age unknown, 18/05/1940, missing
Pilot Officer Robert J. Lennox-French, RAFVR 77120, 206 Sqdn., age 28, 18/05/1940, missing
Took off 20.25 hrs from Bircham Newton. Lost without trace. The missing crew members are commemorated on the Runnymede Memorial.
Type: Lockheed Hudson?
Serial number: N7400, VX-?
Operation: Hamburg
Lost: 18/05/1940
Flying Officer [Pilot] George D.O.L. Hutchesson, RAf 39283, 206 Sqdn., age 26, 18/05/1940, missing
Pilot Officer Adrian Bouwens, RAF 33420, 206 Sqdn., age unknown, 18/05/1940, missing
Corporal Royston E. Gumbrill, RAF 520854, 206 Sqdn., age 32, 18/05/1940, missing
Aircraftman 1st Class John L. Durant, RAF 627040 (Canada), 206 Sqdn., age 19, 18/05/1940, missing
Took off 23.00 hrs from Bircham Newton. Lost without trace. The missing crew members are commemorated on the Runnymede Memorial.
Sources: CWGC and Ross McNeill, 'Royal Air Force Coastal Command Losses: Aircraft and Crew Losses 1939-1941 v. 1', Midland Publishing, 2003
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19/05/1940: Photo-Reconnaissance
Type: Lockheed Hudson I
Serial number: N7363, VX-?
Operation: Photo-Reconnaissance
Lost: 19/05/1940
Sergeant [Pilot] Ernest A. Judge, RAF 565431, 206 Sqdn., age 24, 19/05/1940, missing
Sergeant William Jones, RAF 563455, 206 Sqdn., age unknown, 19/05/1940, missing
Corporal Anthony J. Metcalfe, RAF 516026, 206 Sqdn., age unknown, 19/05/1940, missing
Aircraftman 1st Class Henry C. Mewett, RAF 622864, 206 Sqdn., age unknown, 19/05/1940, missing
Took off ? hrs from Bircham Newton. Shot down by Oblt Wulf of 6(J)./TrGr186 some 50 km NW of Heligoland at 16.00 hrs. The missing crew members are commemorated on the Runnymede Memorial.
Sources: CWGC and Ross McNeill, 'Royal Air Force Coastal Command Losses: Aircraft and Crew Losses 1939-1941 v. 1', Midland Publishing, 2003
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20/05/1940: ground accident, UK
Type: Avro Anson I
Serial number: N9897, VX-N
Operation: (-)
Lost: 20/05/1940
Aircraftman 2nd Class Leslie G. Curry, RAFVR 749948, 206 Sqdn., age unknown, 20/05/1940, Kingston-upon-Thames Cemetery, UK
While being refuelled, the plane was hit by Blenheim L9256 of 235 Squadron, killing AC2 Curry. The crew of the Blenheim remained unharmed.
Source: Ross McNeill, 'Royal Air Force Coastal Command Losses: Aircraft and Crew Losses 1939-1941 v. 1', Midland Publishing, 2003
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22/05/1940: Reconnaissance
Type: Lockheed Hudson I
Serial number: N7402, VX-?
Operation: Reconnaissance
Lost: 22/05/1940
Pilot Officer [Pilot] Malcolm J. Giles, RAF 41996, 206 Sqdn., age unknown, 22/05/1940, missing
Pilot Officer John A. Clark, RAF 41986, 206 Sqdn., age 22, 22/05/1940, missing
Leading Aircraftman Leonard J. Britton, RAF 519168, 206 Sqdn., DFM, age 27, 22/05/1940, missing
Aircraftman 1st Class James F. Peel, RAF 623315, 206 Sqdn., age 23, 22/05/1940, missing
Took off 11.30 hrs from Bircham Newton.
Failed to return from off the German coast.
Source: Ross McNeill, 'Royal Air Force Coastal Command Losses: Aircraft and Crew Losses 1939-1941 v. 1', Midland Publishing, 2003
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24/05/1940: Borkum/Ems
Hudsons of 206 Sqdn were on a mission in the Borkum/ mouth of the Ems area. They were escorted by at least one Blenheim of 235 Squadron, which was shot down by a Me 109 and crashed off Schiermonnikoog.
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25/05/1940: Convoy
Type: Lockheed Hudson I
Serial number: N7403, VX-N
Operation: Convoy
Lost: 25/05/1940
P/O H.E.M. Featherstone, 41275 - safe
P/O C.A.S. Greenhill, 40906 - safe
LAC R.A. Plowright, 550840 - safe
LAC Keeper - safe
Took off 08.40 hrs from Bircham Newton. Crashed on landing at 12.40 hrs and blew up.
Source: Ross McNeill, 'Royal Air Force Coastal Command Losses: Aircraft and Crew Losses 1939-1941 v. 1', Midland Publishing, 2003
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20/06/1940: Patrol S.A.2, UK. 1 Plane lost
Type: Lockheed B14L Hudson Mk.I
Serial number: P5120, VX-G (or C?)
Operation: Patrol S.A.2
Lost: 20/06/1940
F/O Marvin - safe
P/O J.A. Gilbert, 41399 - safe
AC Garrety - safe
LAC Thompson
Took off 23.50 hrs 19/06/1940 from Bircham Newton with two other aircraft of the squadron.
The plane hit a ridge on the approach to the airfield, bounced, stalled and the undercarriage collapsed at 03.15 hrs.
Source: Ross McNeill, 'Royal Air Force Coastal Command Losses: Aircraft and Crew Losses 1939-1941 v. 1', Midland Publishing, 2003
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21/06/1940: Den Helder, NL
In an attack by nine British Hudson aircraft of 206 Squadron, dismantled old Dutch coastal battleship Vliereede was sunk at Den Helder. The ship was later salv[age]ed as German Ariadne in 1941.
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28-29/06/1940: Reconnaissance
Type: Lockheed Hudson I
Serial number: N7299, VX-?
Operation: Reconnaissance
Lost: 29/06/1940
Sgt Cullen - safe
Sgt McMahon - safe
AC Field - safe
AC W.L. Johnston, 759044 - safe
Took off 21.20 hrs from Bircham Newton. Flew into the runway when the flare-path was extinguished without warning at 00.15 hrs 29/06/1940 due to an invasion scare.
Source: Ross McNeill, 'Royal Air Force Coastal Command Losses: Aircraft and Crew Losses 1939-1941 v. 1', Midland Publishing, 2003
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19/11/1940: Convoy duty, UK
Type: Lockheed Hudson I
Serial number: N7300, VX-B
Operation: Convoy duty
Lost: 19/11/1940
Flying Officer (Pilot) Herbert A. Skeats, RAFVR 72003, 206 Sqdn., age 25, 19/11/1940, Cambridge Crematorium, UK
Sergeant Patrick L. Brace, RAFVR 745496, 206 Sqdn., age 20, 19/11/1940, Islington Cemetery and Crematorium, UK
Sergeant (Air Gnr.) Sidney Bradley, RAFVR 749429, 206 Sqdn., age 24, 19/11/1940, Mickleover (All Saints) Churchyard, UK
Sergeant (W.Op./Air Gnr.) John H. Moss, RAFVR 905501, 206 Sqdn., age 20, 19/11/1940, Great Bircham (St. Mary) Churchyard, UK
Took off from RAF Bircham Newton on Convoy duty at 13.25. The aircraft was guided back to RAF Bircham Newton on a Radio bearing at 16.30hrs. As the visibility was bad the aircraft was told to divert to RAF Langham. The pilot radioed that the weather was bad at RAF Langham and was told to divert to RAF Coltishall. Two minutes later he crashed into a wood at West Raynham Hall and ended up on the main Fakenham to Swaffham road. Three of the crew were killed by the crash and one was fatally injured. A bomb exploded injuring a Warden who was helping with the rescue. John Moss, from East Putney, was buried with full military honours on 22 November 1940. The rest of the crew, F/O HA.Skeats, Sgt.PL.Brace, and Sgt.S.Bradley were taken to their home towns for burial. At the court of enquiry the AOC said that 'it was a clear example of a pilot losing his head.'
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Sources
206 Squadron: Coastal Command
Air of Authority - 206 Squadron
Air Force POWs 1939-1945
Auckland War Memorial Museum Cenotaph Database
Australian War Memorial
Bail-outs for 1940
Canadian Virtual War Memorial
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
New Zealanders in the Royal Air Force
Naval History
Norfolk War Graves
Prisoners of War captured in Europe 1940
Royal Air Force - 206 Squadron
RAF against odds (Time, USA, 27/05/1940)
RAF - Campaign Diary - The Battle of France (May-June 1940)
Ross McNeill, Royal Air Force Coastal Command Losses: Aircraft and Crew Losses 1939-1941 volume 1, Midland Publishing, 2003 (ISBN: 1857801288)
RAF History - Bomber Command
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
Uboat.net - Lockheed Hudson
War over Holland
Books
Tim Carroll, 'The Great Escape from Stalag Luft III', 2005
Peter D. Cornwell, The Battle of France, Then and Now, 2008
Christi Goulter, 'A Forgotten Offensive: Royal Air Force Coastal Command's Anti-Shipping Campaign 1940-1945', Routledge, 1995
Peter B. Gunn, 'Naught Escapes Us: The Story of No. 206 Squadron Royal Air Force', The 206 Squadron Association, ISBN 0954755308 / 978-0954755300 (April 2004)
Ross McNeill, 'Royal Air Force Coastal Command Losses: Aircraft and Crew Losses 1939-1941 v. 1', Midland Publishing, 2003
Links
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
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
Håkans aviation page (from Sweden, in English)
'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
Pilotfriend.com: aircraft of WW2
Polish Air Force 1940-1947 Operations Record Books
RAF Battle of Britain
RAF Upwood
De Slag om de Grebbeberg (Dutch)
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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This page is dedicated to the men of 206 Squadron.
© Bart FM Droog / Rottend Staal Online 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
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