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Date: | Thursday 13 June 1940 |
Time: | c. |
Type: | Blackburn Skua II |
Owner/operator: | 800 Sqn FAA RN |
Registration: | L3000 |
MSN: | - |
Fatalities: | Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 2 |
Other fatalities: | 0 |
Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
Location: | Mollebakken, western suberb of Trondheim, -
Norway
|
Phase: | Combat |
Nature: | Military |
Departure airport: | HMS Ark Royal |
Destination airport: | |
Narrative:The 800 Sqn. Fleet Air Arm, Royal Navy, Blackburn Skua, L3000 "A6-F", was attacked and shot down two Messerschmitt Me 110's after dive bombing the German Battleship Scharnhorst in Trondheim Harbour. Pilot, Lieutenant, George Edward Desmond Finch-Noyes, was killed in the action, Observer, Petty Officer Airman, Howard, Gresley Cunningham parachuted to safety, landing at Mollebakken, western suberb of Trondheim where he was captured by the Germans and becoming a POW for the duration of the war.
Fifteen Fleet Air Arm, Royal Navy Blackburn Skuas took off from the aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal at 00:05 hrs. on 13th June 1940, (six, 800 Sqn. and nine, 803 Sqn.), to bomb the German Battleship Scharnhorst anchored in Trondheim Harbour. Eight were shot by down Messerschmitt Bf 109's & Bf 110's during the mission with only seven, (two, 800 Sqn. and five, 803 Sqn.) aircraft returning to land back on HMS Ark Royal by 03:45 hrs.
53% of the attacking aircraft were lost during the raid, inflicting only minimal damage on the Battleship Scharnhorst.
Sources:
Black Thursday – a disastrous Fleet Air Arm raid | Naval Air History
Roll of Honour.jpg (1125×1113) (skua.no)
Operation Skua 2006
English Channel sea battles, June 1940 (naval-history.net)
Operation Skua
World War 2 - FAA No. 800 Squadron, May 1940 (epibreren.com)
Blackburn Skua (2) (valka.cz)
Skua!: The Royal Navy's Dive-Bomber - Peter C. Smith - Google Books
Revision history:
Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
09-Dec-2020 22:04 |
Peter Clarke |
Added |