Base: Bircham Newton (on detachment from Thorney Island)
Take off time: 1018 hrs.
Op: Strike.
Shot down by a flak-ship at 1220 hrs during a convoy attack off Hoek van Holland. Sgt. Hulme was washed ashore on the 15 May 1941 near Bergen aan Zee and now rests in Bergen General Cemetery, Holland.
On this day 59 lost four aircraft: TR-E: TR-F: TR-H: TR-A
An excerpt from the book "How I won the War - Personal Accounts of WWII by Alex Fry" (source) A letter from P/O RD Morton (the pilot of TR-H who was taken prisoner) to the father of F/Lt Anthony Fry DFC after the war.
"The circumstances of that unfortunate operation were breifly this. From Bircham Newton, Norfolk, in the morning of April 28th 1941, Tony led our formation of Blenheims into a low level attack on a German convoy off the Hook of Holland. The attack was carried home at mast height and the ship's heavy AA defences succeeded in bringing down all four aircraft. My own was the only one able to turn for home but it was on fire and I was forced to crashland. My own difficulties prevented me from seeing what happened to the other three aircraft but I was advised afterwards by the Germans that they had all been shot down into the sea, with no survivors..."
One lost - Sgt JJ Hulme
Two POW - P/O RD Morton & Sgt BR Flury
 |  |  |
During WWII, the RAF used three-letter codes to identify their aircraft from a distance. Two large letters were painted before the roundel, which signified the squadron to which the aircraft belonged, and another letter was painted after the roundel which indicated the individual aircraft. Aditionally, there was the individual serial number for each aircraft, which was painted in a much smaller size, usually somewhere at the rear of the aircraft: (more)
Codes used by RAF 59 Squadron:
PJ Sep 1938 - Sep 1939
TR Sep 1939 - Oct 1942
1 Aug 1943 - Jul 1944
WE Jul 1944 - Oct 1945
BY Oct 1945 - Jun 1946, Dec 1947 - Oct 1950