Vitry-en-Artois - Vitry-en-Artois

On August 30, 1940 at 12:00 AM, Vitry-en-Artois - Vitry-en-Artois experienced a crash involving Heinkel He.111, operated by German Air Force - Deutsche Luftwaffe, with the event recorded near Southend Essex.

The flight was categorized as bombing and the reported phase was flight at a plain, valley crash site.

6 people were known to be on board, 4 fatalities were recorded, 2 survivors were identified or estimated. This corresponds to an estimated fatality rate of 66.7%.

Crew on board: 6, crew fatalities: 3, passengers on board: 0, passenger fatalities: 0, other fatalities: 1.

The listed crash cause is terrorism act, hijacking, sabotage. The aircraft left Vitry-en-Artois Airfield in France on a bombing mission to Hatfield, northwest of London area. It made a stop in Douai to pick up the crew of another He.111 before continuing to UK. While approaching England by the east at an altitude of some 3,000 feet, the bomber was shot down by a RAF fighter. Three crew members were able to bail out before the aircraft crashed in Southend. Three other crewmen were killed as well as one lady on the ground who was hit by debris. Crew: Uffz Helmut Gall, pilot, Uffz Wolf Rossler, observer, Ernst Erhard Von Kuenheim, radio officer, Uffz Adolf Saam, flight engineer, Heinrich Fischer, rear gunner 1. Source & photos: http://southendpatriot.blogspot.nl/2014/03/the-heinkel-111-air-crash-in-lifstan.html

Aircraft reference details include registration A1+IL.

Geospatial coordinates for this crash are approximately 51.5388°, 0.7128°.