Len Bennett's Final Mission
It is uncertain how many sorties Len flew during the time he was with 239 Squadron as not all ORBs are available. His documented duties were mainly “Popular”, or photo reconnaissance sorties, although he did tell his children long after the war that he was involved in strafing trains and ground targets.
From the ORB :-
On July 22nd 1943 F/O L.W. Bennett (AM180) and F/O J.M. Vaughan (AM239) took off from Fairlop at 1235 hours to take photographs of lock gates near Ypres. They crossed via Foulness and Ramsgate at 1252 hours intending to cross the enemy coast at Middlekerk at 1310 hours. After leaving Manston nothing further was heard and they did not return.
It isn’t exactly clear what happened to each of the four Mustangs that left Fairlop on 22nd July. Two Mustangs were claimed by Obfw. Hans Heitmann of 8/ JG26 at 1337 hours and 1345 hours at 15-20km and 25 – 30 km respectively North of Dunkirk . F/O Gerald Collis reported that he was chased and shot by two Focke-Wulf 190’s and they were responsible for him coming down in the North Sea. Later in the same account he reports that Len, who he subsequently met later in Stalag Luft 3, had said that he had clipped a tree and had to make a forced landing .
On the Belgian website Luctvaartgeschiedenis.be “Mustang at Adinkerke” notes, from a report from the Luftlage, at least two of the four Mustangs were shot down by German hunters possibly from III/JG26 or IIJG26 and that the AM 180 ‘HB-P” of F/O Bennett landed in a wheat field two kilometres south of Adinkerke. Bennett tried to set his machine on fire , but this was prevented by German soldiers rushing in. The Mustang was only 15% damaged and was not affected by projectiles – (Corroborating the clipped tree theory) . The following day Bennett was handed over to the Luftwaffe who, after questioning referred him to a Dulag Luft. His aircraft was exhibited in Beutepark der Luftwaffe 5 in Nanterre near Paris, in an exhibition hall where captured allied aircraft were on display
In summary it seems that :-
F/O J.M Vaughan in AM 239 and F/O W.A Damsell in AP181 had completed their mission and were crossing back separately towards England when they were attacked in turn by Obfw Heitman who, according to JG26 Luftwaffe Fighter Wing War Diary, Donald Caldwell, was at cockpit readiness on Vendeville with the 8th Staffel when the loudspeaker announced the approach of two low flying enemy aircraft. he scrambled with his Rotte at 1330 hours and chased a pair of 239 squadron Mustangs across the coast and shot them into the channel at 1337 and 1345. Both pilots were killed. Their names are enscribed on the RAF Memorial at Runymede
F/O G.F. Collis had completed his mission and was attacked by two Focke-Wulf 109s who shot him down into the channel. He managed to bail out and his dinghy carried him back to the Belgian mainland where he was captured
F/O L.W. Bennett clipped a tree whilst carrying out a tight turn (according to Collis in his IWM account, reel 4) and had to make a forced landing in the corn field. Collis recalled his meeting up with Len in Stalag Luft 3
“So I went across to Stalag 3 and met up with other guys including Len Bennett and asked him his story. He, apparently, with his number 1, had gone in at 0 feet and separated to do their job and they hit this mist and fog and stuff and Len was banking round following his leader and managed to hit a tree, the most ignominious way to get felled. He hit a tree so badly that he had to plonk the aeroplane in. So, he was prisoner as well.”
Len’s story as a POW continues here
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