Blenheim N6199 - 1st Bomber Command loss of WW2

Official records list RAF No. 110 Squadron's Blenheim N6199 as the first Bomber Command loss of WW2.
See The Battle of the Heligoland Bight at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Heligoland_Bight_(1939)
- it is quite the read.

Loss Record: http://www.lostaircraft.com/database.php?mode=viewentry&e=3176

Start Airport: Wattisham
Destination: Wilhelmshaven
Mission: Shipping attack on the training ship Emden

Bristol Blenheim Serial Range N6140 - N6242. One of a batch of 100 Bristol Blenheim Mk.1V. N6140-6174; N6176- 6220; N6223-N6242.

Airborne 1545 3Sep39 from Wattisham. Shot down by Flak in the target area.
Sgt Grossey was on attachment from No.42 Sqdn; he has no known grave. The rest of the crew are now buried in the Sage War Cemetery, Oldenburg.

In his book, The Right of the Line. John Terrain reports that the above aircraft crashed on the deck of the training cruiser Emden killing nine of her crew and wounding several more.
Although Terrain does not identify F/O Emden, this odd quirk of fate (that the very first pilot killed in Bomber Command in WW2 was named Emden,
lost in an attack against the Embden due to crashing into the Emben) has been noted by a number of writers during their research of this particular action.
This comment is extracted from Bomber Command Losses 1939-40, W.Chorley

Crew:
Flying Officer Henry Lovell Emden Pilot 36138 killed Buried: SAGE WAR CEMETERY, 4. B. 12. 2
Sergeant Stanley George Mckenna Otty ​509143 killed Buried: SAGE WAR CEMETERY4. C. 4 3
Sergeant Raymond Charles Grossey Observer 516460 killed Remembered on the RUNNYMEDE MEMORIAL, Panel 1.
Aircraftman First Class Ralph Evans 537187 killed Buried: SAGE WAR CEMETERY 4. E. 1.

4 other aircraft were lost (from 107 Squadron) on this disasterous raid. See:
Blenheim N6189 at: http://www.lostaircraft.com/database.php?mode=viewentry&e=2286
Blenheim N6240 at: http://www.lostaircraft.com/database.php?mode=viewentry&e=5579
Blenheim N6188 at: http://www.lostaircraft.com/database.php?mode=viewentry&e=3169
Blenheim N6189 at: http://www.lostaircraft.com/database.php?mode=viewentry&e=2286

The Bristol Blenheim, the most plentiful aircraft in the RAFs inventory when WWII began, was designed by Frank Barnwell, and when first flown
in 1936 was unique with its all metal monoplane design incorporating a retractable undercarriage, wing flaps, metal props, and supercharged engines.
A typical bomb load for a Blenheim was 1,000 pounds. In the early stages of the war Blenheims were used on many daylight bombing missions.
While great heroism was displayed by the air crews, tremendous losses were sustained during these missions.
The Blenhiem was easy pickings at altitude for German Bf-109 fighters who quickly learned to attack from below.
To protect the vulnerable bellies of the Blenheims many missions were shifted to low altitude, but this increased the aircrafts exposure to anti-aircraft fire.

Pilot Albert Stanley Prince flew in Blenhem N6240. He was the First of the Ten Thousand to Fall. (Canadian RCAF War Dead.)
Detailed story about him and the raid at: http://www.bombercommandmuseum.ca/prince.html



The enemy honoured Sgt. Prince and the fifteen other RAF aircrew who died during the raid with full military funerals.
Their coffins were draped with the Union Jack and taken by hearse to the grave site in Geestemunde Cemetery.
A naval honour guard stood at attention as they were interred. Later, their remains were transferred to Becklingen War Cemetery at Soltau, Germany.

Initial reports stated that the raid was somewhat successful in that the Emden was put out of action for two or three months although the Admiral Scheer appears to have escaped unscathed.
However the raid had provided the British public with the first heroes of the war.
The Ministry of Information reported that the Blenheim pilots and crews were, "proud to have been chosen to strike the first blow at the German war machine."
F/O McPherson, the Blenheim reconnaissance pilot, and S/L Doran were awarded the war's first DFC's.

The first Canadian serving with Bomber Command to be killed during World War II, Sgt. Prince was also the first Canadian to die in combat in any of the services.
Before the war in Europe ended over five and one half years later, some ten thousand young Canadian aircrew had been killed
serving with Bomber Command in what has been described as the most continuous and gruelling operation of war ever carried out.

An Artists rendition of Blenheim N6199 crashing into and off the bow of the training ship the Emden at the same time as the major hit amid ships occurred.

 

The artist seems to have believed KMS Emden was a pocket battleship.

 

Not TOO far off. So few pictures of it, surprizingly...
- especially from that viewpoint.., This one the later version with two stacks.




From The Montreal Gazette Wednesday, May 13, 1936
“Out of a grey morning mist, the Reich cruiser Emden – first German warship to dock here in 22 years – came into the port of Montreal yesterday … “
- a coup for the Nazi Regime at the time...

 

I remember seeing large sets of pics of the funeral with full honors and a wraith mentioning a surprising "für unsere tapfere Feind" "to our brave enemy". Not only the Luftwaffe attended but also a whole bunch of civilians who brought flowers.