1944-03-20-Loss of Mitchell FR141 (Bevelander)

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1944-03-20 The Loss of Mitchell FR141 NO-B 'Ouwe Jongens' (Bevelander)

Crash site: 2 km W of Le Mesge, 1.9997E/49.9444N, 9 km West of Picquigny, Somme, France.

Crash cause: pilot presumed hit by enemy Flak shell fragment

For pilot Ad Bevelander and crew, this was supposed to be the last flight of the tour, before leave would be given.

Section of the relevant page from 320 Sqn Operations Record Book

Mitchell FR141 being bombed up on RAF Dunsfold, winter 1943-44. Source: J.P. Kloos

LOST database Mitchell FR141

Name	1. Bevelander, Adriaan (Adje) Orry-la-Ville 050702
Rank	Res 2Lt Vl Wnr, Pilot				Stb.Nr. 21062
Decorations	Vliegerkruis
Born	23/5/1917		Place	Bandoeng, Java, NEI
Squadron	RAF 320 (Dutch) Sqn Bomber Command				Ops/hr		63/171
Aircraft	Mitchell Mk. II B-25C Nr. FR141 NO-B 'Ouwe jongens'
Base	RAF Dunsfold
Mission	Raid on Flixecourt special construction works (V-1 launch site), Somme, F
Status	KIA, pilot presumed hit by Flak shell fragment. Local time 10.18h.					age	26
Killed	20/3/1944		Place	2 km West of Le Mesge, Somme, F
Buried	Initially buried as unknown at Picquigny British Cemetery. Reburied Nederlands ereveld Orry-la-Ville, Senlis, F, grave B/R/1/2
Known to	OGS	yes	CWGC	no
Other crew	2. Off Zwnr 3kl G.G.A. Birsak, Nav - KIA 3. Sgt Vltg Telegr J.J. de Jong, Wop/Ag - KIA 4. Korp Vltg Sch W. Kuijpers, Ag - KIA
Remarks	He was credited with one 2.500t cargo vessel sunk 15' WNW of Brandaris, the West Terschelling light house, on 18/1/1943 He was married Vliegerkruis, posthuum, 4/5/1944 Gedurende geruimen tijd bij het 320e Squadron R.D.N.A.S. van Onzen Marine Luchtvaartdienst in het Vereenigd Koninkrijk, in oorlogsvluchten tegen den vijand blijk gegeven van moed, bekwaamheid, volharding en plichtsbetrachting.
Memorial	None known
GB arrival	31/5/1940 with Dutch vessel 'Batavier II' from Cherbourg, France, after an escape from Holland on 16/5/1940. Detached KL to KM. Send from England to NEI 1/9/1940 for military flying training
Data Confusion	The crash site has been mentioned as Flexicourt, Bourdon, Bourbon, and 2km W of Le Meage (should be Le Mesge). Geldhof (3): Buried Picquigny British War Cemetery, which was the location of first burial

Name	2. Birsak, George Gaston Andrea (Bob) Courtesy: Michael Westhoeve (nephew) 2023-04-26 Orry-la-Ville 050702 Birsak
Rank	Off Zwnr 3kl, navigator
Decorations	None known
Born	16/3/1910		Place	Djokjakarta, Java, NEI
Squadron	RAF 320 (Dutch) Sqn Bomber Command				Ops/hr
Aircraft	Mitchell Mk. II B-25C Nr. FR141 NO-B
Base	RAF Dunsfold
Mission	Raid on Flixecourt special construction works (V-1 launch site), Somme, F
Status	KIA, pilot presumed hit by Flak shell fragment. Local time 10.18h.					age	34
Killed	20/3/1944		Place	2 km West of Le Mesge, Somme, F
Buried	Initially buried as unknown at Picquigny British Cemetery. Reburied Nederlands ereveld Orry-la-Ville, Senlis, F, grave B/R/1/4
Known to	OGS	yes	CWGC	no
Other crew	1. Res 2Lt Vl Wnr A. Bevelander, Pilot - KIA 3. Sgt Vltg Telegr J.J. de Jong, Wop/Ag - KIA 4. Korp Vltg Sch W. Kuijpers, Ag - KIA
Remarks
Memorial	None known
GB arrival	After the outbreak of War, he was send from NEI to England
Data Confusion	The crash site has been mentioned as Flexicourt, Bourdon, Bourbon, and 2km W of Le Meage (should be Le Mesge). Geldhof (3): Buried Picquigny British War Cemetery, which was the location of first burial

Name	3. Jong, Johannes Jacobus de Orry-la-Ville 050702 De Jong
Rank	Sgt Vltg Telegr, Wop/Ag				Stb.Nr. 20476
Decorations	None known
Born	21/10/1923		Place	Tjimahi, Java, NEI
Squadron	RAF 320 (Dutch) Sqn Bomber Command				Ops/hr
Aircraft	Mitchell Mk. II B-25C Nr. FR141 NO-B
Base	RAF Dunsfold
Mission	Raid on Flixecourt special construction works (V-1 launch site), Somme, F
Status	KIA, pilot presumed hit by Flak shell fragment. Local time 10.18h.					age	20
Killed	20/3/1944		Place	2 km West of Le Mesge, Somme, F
Buried	Initially buried as unknown at Picquigny British Cemetery. Reburied Nederlands ereveld Orry-la-Ville, Senlis, F, grave B/R/1/3
Known to	OGS	yes	CWGC	no
Other crew	1. Res 2Lt Vl Wnr A. Bevelander, Pilot - KIA 2. Off Zwnr 3kl G.G.A. Birsak, Nav - KIA 4. Korp Vltg Sch W. Kuijpers, Ag - KIA
Remarks
Memorial	None known
GB arrival	After the outbreak of War, he was send from NEI to England
Data Confusion	The crash site has been mentioned as Flexicourt, Bourdon, Bourbon, and 2km W of Le Meage (should be Le Mesge). Geldhof (3): Buried Picquigny British War Cemetery, which was the location of first burial.

Name	4. Kuijpers, Wilhelmus
Rank	Korp Vltg Sch, Ag				Stb.Nr. 90532/Z
Decorations	Kruis van Verdienste
Born	14/11/1919		Place	Heer (near Maastricht), NL
Squadron	RAF 320 (Dutch) Sqn Bomber Command				Ops/hr		23/43
Aircraft	Mitchell Mk. II B-25C Nr. FR141 NO-B
Base	RAF Dunsfold
Mission	Raid on Flixecourt special construction works (V-1 launch site), Somme, F
Status	KIA, pilot presumed hit by Flak shell fragment. Local time 10.18h.					age	26
Killed	20/3/1944		Place	2 km West of Le Mesge, Somme, F
Buried	Initially buried as unknown at Picquigny British Cemetery. Reburied Nederlands ereveld Orry-la-Ville, Senlis, F, grave B/R/1/1
Known to	OGS	yes	CWGC	no
Other crew	1. Res 2Lt Vl Wnr A. Bevelander, Pilot - KIA 2. Off Zwnr 3kl G.G.A. Birsak, Nav - KIA 3. Sgt Vltg Telegr J.J. de Jong, Wop/Ag - KIA
Remarks	Of Mockstraat 14, Heer. W. Kuijpers married in GB with Audrey
Memorial	1. Vijfluik Loenen, Gelderland, NL 2. Raadhuisplein, Maastricht, Limburg, NL
GB arrival	Engelandvaarder. Departure Maastricht, NL, 18/5/1942. He travelled via the land route to Belgium, France, Switzerland, France again, Spain, Curaçao and Canada. He arrived in the UK on 17/4/1943. Source: NA 2.09.06-13078
Data Confusion	The crash site has been mentioned as Flexicourt, Bourdon, Bourbon, and 2km W of Le Meage (should be Le Mesge). Geldhof (3): Buried Picquigny British War Cemetery, which was the location of first burial. Kuijpers' name is spelled Kuypers by OGS and several others. Rob Dijksman believes that this is the result of a spelling error made by Consul Kolkman in France in 1942, during Kuijpers' escape to England.

By chance Rob Dijksman from Hulsberg, NL, discovered the war diary kept by Wim Kuijpers. It is filled with detailed observations, rendered with humor. Dijksman, together with Kuijpers' niece Mariëlle, published this diary on 22-04-2010 with the Mooi Limburgs Boekenfonds under the title 'Als ik ooit nog thuis kom'.

2. Eyewitness account of F/O. André Hissink

Je tweede vraag was of afweergeschut de oorzaak was van Bevelander's crash. Dat was er altijd zodra we de kust over waren, soms meteen, soms wat later, soms zwaar, soms licht. Hing er van af of je in de buurt van de kannon vloog. Die dag was het weer mooi en zonnig en wij hadden nog maar sporadisch en ver vuur ontmoet; het leek alsof wij het makkelijk zouden hebben. Wij weten eigenlijk niet wat er met hem gebeurde, maar wij vermoedden - en zo denk ik er nog over - dat een scherf van een van die verre granaten (een onnozel lijkende granaat) hem trof en doodde en dat hij op dat moment instinktief de stuurkolom naar zich toe trok, waardoor het vliegtuig steil uit de formatie omhoog ging totdat het snelheid verloor, omklapte en steil naar de grond stortte. Ook dit zag ik van nabij daar Bevelander nr 4 vloog en Wils en ik naast hem als nr 5.

Vd Kop, pag. 248-249: Adje's toestel ging in een vertikale duik na een Flaktreffer; niemand kwam eruit. Zijn vrouw was hoogzwanger.

Picture taken 2 km West of Le Mesge, Somme, looking East towards the hamlet of Le Mesge. No traces of a crash site found any longer in this farmland. Le Mesge 051019-1

Birzak and De Jong were identified by the Germans, no doubt by their RAF Form 1250 identity cards. The Germans could not establish the identity of the other two crewmembers. This German information was found by the Allies after the War, and transmitted to the DIB.

Source: CAD-MvD 5.050.5220/300

After the loss of FR141, the nickname 'Ouwe Jongens' was transferred to FR186.

3. Crash site confusion

The crash site has been mentioned as Flexicourt, Bourdon (OGS), Bourbon (Bosch, Geldhof (3), Kloos), probably a misspelling of Bourdon, and as 2km West of Le Meage (De Haan, should be Le Mesge). Local specialists have declared Le Mesge to be correct, but the site has not yet been pinpointed. Flexicourt, which is 58 km by road from Le Mesge, is probably a misspelling of Flixecourt, which is a village 8,5 km from Le Mesge.

Orry-la-Ville, Plot B right, row 1. Left to right the graves of W. Kuijpers, A. Bevelander, J.J. de Jong, G.G.A. Birsak, and the fighter pilots J. Veen and P.H. Stenger. Orry-la-Ville 050702-4

4. Crash site data

Map 58. 2 km West of Le Mesge, Somme, F, near Picquigny, Area where Mitchell FR141 NO-B crashed on 20/3/1944, taking the lives of the four man crew. Picquigny.jpg

320 Squadron Mitchells. Source: @St.M.Vl.P. 1939-50, JPK collection 7-2-11

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