DELABASTITA, Henri Jeanne Paul
Stats:
rank: P/Ostatus: kifa
airforce: RAF (no: 130019 )
born: 1906-05-07 Lueven Belgium
added by: Jason Evans
add
All Images:
Bio / Text:
Henri Jeanne Paul De la Bastita began flying training in Belgium on the 29th of September 1924 and obtained his military pilots licence on the 15th of January 1926 but finished military aviation later the same year. It is unknown what he did as a profession after that but he started flying for the military again in September 1939.
His unit, the 1/I/1 Aé, badge "de Meeuw was equipped with Fairey Fox IIICs.
On the 14th of May 1940 he was tasked with flying a reconnaissance mission to assess the bridges over the Albert canal between Antwerp and Kwaadmechelen.
His aircraft came under heavy fire and sustained damage and started to loose fuel, forcing him to make an emergency landing.
He landed in occupied territory and was taken as a prisoner of war, held at Oflag IVC until he was released in August the same year.
In 1941, after attempting to flee occupied Europe for Great Britain, he was interned in Spain for a year. On the 13th of May 1942 he arrived in England and in September he joined the RAF Volunteer Reserve. After completing his pilot refresher course he was posted to 58 Operational Training Unit on the 12th of January 1942.
On the 29th of Janurary 1943 he was flying a Spitfire Mk IIa P8394, named Gibraltar, on a homing training mission. He was returning to RAF Balado Bridge when his aircraft dived almost vertically at high speed and crashed into boggy ground to the south of the North Third reservoir near Sterling, Scotland. he was tragically killed.
The cause of the crash is believed to be oxygen starvation after his oxygen supply equipment malfunctioned.
His body was recovered 3 days after the crash and it is unknown where he was buried but he was commemorated in the Maidenhead register. After the war his body was repatriated to Belgium and his final resting place is the Belgian Airmen's Field of Honour in Brussels.
Note, this is not first hand information, just information I have gathered from online searches, in particular from https://www.hangarflying.eu/erfgoedsites/gedenkteken-voor-p-o-henri-de-la-bastita-spitfire-iia-p8394-gibraltar-58-otu/
I have just used the information that I felt was most pertinent to P/O Henri Jeanne Paul De La Bastita.
His unit, the 1/I/1 Aé, badge "de Meeuw was equipped with Fairey Fox IIICs.
On the 14th of May 1940 he was tasked with flying a reconnaissance mission to assess the bridges over the Albert canal between Antwerp and Kwaadmechelen.
His aircraft came under heavy fire and sustained damage and started to loose fuel, forcing him to make an emergency landing.
He landed in occupied territory and was taken as a prisoner of war, held at Oflag IVC until he was released in August the same year.
In 1941, after attempting to flee occupied Europe for Great Britain, he was interned in Spain for a year. On the 13th of May 1942 he arrived in England and in September he joined the RAF Volunteer Reserve. After completing his pilot refresher course he was posted to 58 Operational Training Unit on the 12th of January 1942.
On the 29th of Janurary 1943 he was flying a Spitfire Mk IIa P8394, named Gibraltar, on a homing training mission. He was returning to RAF Balado Bridge when his aircraft dived almost vertically at high speed and crashed into boggy ground to the south of the North Third reservoir near Sterling, Scotland. he was tragically killed.
The cause of the crash is believed to be oxygen starvation after his oxygen supply equipment malfunctioned.
His body was recovered 3 days after the crash and it is unknown where he was buried but he was commemorated in the Maidenhead register. After the war his body was repatriated to Belgium and his final resting place is the Belgian Airmen's Field of Honour in Brussels.
Note, this is not first hand information, just information I have gathered from online searches, in particular from https://www.hangarflying.eu/erfgoedsites/gedenkteken-voor-p-o-henri-de-la-bastita-spitfire-iia-p8394-gibraltar-58-otu/
I have just used the information that I felt was most pertinent to P/O Henri Jeanne Paul De La Bastita.
Spitfire Art Prints:
Squadrons:
| Squadrons add | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Airforce | Sqdrn | Start | Finish |
| none provided | |||
Aircraft:
| Aircraftadd | ||
|---|---|---|
| Serial | Note | Date |
| P8394 | Training Mission, likely Oxygen Starvation leading to crash in bog | 1943-01-29 |
post
Comments / Questions:
post