RAF 16th Squadron Lysanders May 1940

[King Kurt]

I wonder if anybody can help me?

I am looking for information on 16th squadron and their part in the battle of France. My particular interest is in a Lysander which was shot down on the 28th of May 1940. it was flown by Flt off Clapham and his gunner was R Brown - my wife's great uncle. The plane crashed near to St Omer and according to one source I have seen was the only Lysander shot down that day. Looking at Perry's list of German claims no Lysanders were claimed for that day, so possibly it was a casualty of flak rather fighters.

So any information would be appreciated. One touching part of the story was that the bodies from the crash were discovered by a French garage owner who buried the 2 crewmen and tended the graves until they were moved to the St Omer military cemetry in the late 40's - a brave and gallant act in those times.

[Peter Cornwell]

As far as I am aware it was the only Lysander lost on the day as follows:

RAF AIR COMPONENT

16 Squadron, Lympne Tactical Reconnaissance

Lysander P1720. Believed shot down by ground fire and crashed near Longuenesse 7.45 a.m. F/Lt W. R. Clapham and Sgt R. Brown killed. Aircraft a write-off.

[DaveRC]

William Roy Clapham, who was always known as Roy, was my Uncle (fathers brother) but he is survived by his son who lives in Ireland. Please contact me if you would like to try and make contact with him. You can also find out more information from the Commonweath Commission Wargraves website.

David Clapham
NSW, Australia

[B.F.M. Droog]

On this 16 Squadron-page you'll find the CWGC information on all 13 men from the Squadron who lost their lives from 10/05/1940 - 30/06/1940.

Regards,

Bart

[Henk Welting]

Hi all,
I've on file that Lysander P1720 was hit by groundfire and crashed on land of Mr Cours just outside St.Momelin about 07.45h.
The remains of both crewmembers were recovered from the crash location by Mr Monsterlet, a local garage-keeper, and initially buried at a secret location.
Regards,
Henk.