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| Date: | Friday 4 April 1941 |
| Time: | night |
| Type: | Boulton Paul Defiant Mk I |
| Owner/operator: | 141 Sqn RAF |
| Registration: | T3913 |
| MSN: | |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 2 |
| Other fatalities: | 0 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | nr Little Hermitage, Higham, 2 miles of RAF Gravesend, Kent, England -
 United Kingdom
|
| Phase: | Approach |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | RAF Gravesend, Kent |
| RAF Gravesend, |
Boulton Paul Defiant Mk I T3913, 141 Squadron, RAF Gravesend, Kent: Written off (damaged beyond repair) 4 April 1941. According to the file at the National Archives at Kew (File AIR 81/5679 - see link #3): "Flying Officer D C Williams, Flying Officer G F C Pledger: killed; aircraft failed to return from operational flight, Defiant T3913, 141 Squadron, 4 April 1941"
Took off at 23:00 hrs for an operational flight. Their the plane had taken off with one other but both were recalled to Gravesend due to very bad weather and poor radio reception. In descending through cloud, Defiant T3913 struck the ground near Little Hermitage, Higham, Gravesend Road, Rochester, Kent two miles from base. Both crew killed
Crew:
F/O (41230) Denis Conon WILLIAMS (pilot) RAF - killed
P/O (79216) Geoffrey Frank Colman PLEDGER (Air Gunner) RAFVR - killed
Sources:
1. Royal Air Force Aircraft T1000-V9999 (James J Halley, Air Britain, 1997)
2. ORB 141 Squadron RAF for April 1941: National Archives (PRO Kew) File
AIR 27/969/21: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/D8388573
3. National Archives (PRO Kew) AIR81/5679: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C16689777
4. https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/2449741/dennis-conon-williams/
5. CWGC: https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/2427363/geoffrey-frank-colman-pledger/
6. https://www.bbm.org.uk/airmen/WilliamsDC.htm
7. https://www.bbm.org.uk/airmen/Pledger.htm
8. https://britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/101350227-the-little-hermitage-higham
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 29-May-2024 20:55 | Nepa | Updated [Location, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative, Operator] |
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