Smythe, Noel Bentley
Personal Information
Rank | P/O |
Forename(s) | Noel Bentley |
Surname | Smythe |
Gender | M |
Age | 22 |
Decorations | |
Date of Death | 26-06-1943 |
Next of Kin | Son of Canute Constantine Smythe, and Amy Lucille Smythe, of Cross Roads, Jamaica. |
Aircraft Information
Aircraft | Vickers Wellington X |
Serial Number | HF589 |
Markings | AS-W |
Memorial Information
Burial/Memorial Country | Netherlands |
Burial/Memorial Place | Amersfoort (Oud Leusden) General Cemetery |
Grave Reference | Plot 13. Row 8. Grave 153. |
Epitaph | UNTIL THE DAY BREAK, AND THE SHADOWS FLEE AWAY |
IBCC Memorial Information
Phase | 2 |
Panel Number | 244 |
Enlistment Information
Service Number | 143667 |
Service | Royal Air Force |
Group | 4 |
Squadron | 196 |
Trade | Pilot |
Country of Origin | Jamaica |
Other Memorials
Location | Normandy Barracks, Leconfield, East Yorkshire |
Country | United Kingdom |
Memorial Type | Metal Sculpture Brick Pillars and Inscribed Sqn Badges |
Memorial Text | A memorial to those who flew from RAF Leconfield, including 640 Sqn |
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
The National Archives
Record of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/1166/12 |
Summary of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/1166/11 |
Fellow Servicemen
Last Operation Information
Start Date | 25-06-1943 |
End Date | 26-06-1943 |
Takeoff Station | Leconfield |
Day/Night Raid | Night (38% moon) |
Operation | Gelsenkirchen. 473 aircraft, 30 losses (6.3%). The first raid in around two years on this Ruhr town. Cloud cover and unserviceable Oboe equipment in 5 of the 12 Mosquitoes meant that the target was not well marked. As a result the local report puts the number of buildings destroyed at just 24. 16 deaths on the ground. Some nearby towns were hit in error, particularly Solingen with more people being killed there than in Gelsenkirchen itself. A good illustration of the dependency on PFF marking for raid success. |
Reason for Loss | Shot down by a night-fighter and crashed ESE of Leiden, Holland |