Lockheed Hudson
The British Royal Air Force regularly carried out attacks on German convoys off the Dutch coast. On May 4, 1942, a convoy was spotted near IJmuiden. Eight Lockheed Hudsons from the British Coastal Command took off from the North Coates base in Lincolnshire to attack the convoy.
Convoy number 260 was en route from the Elbe to Rotterdam with nine freighters. At 11.44 am, 6 kilometers northwest of Bergen, seven aircraft were suddenly sighted just above the horizon launching an attack on the convoy. The anti-aircraft fire on the ships broke away and one Hudson was shot down above the convoy. Another Hudson was damaged and spun away smoking.
It was Hudson AM565 of No. 53 Squadron which had continued the attack on the convoy despite a smoking right engine. An emergency landing was made at sea to the west of the convoy. Three of the four crew members were able to leave the Hudson in time.
Not 22-year-old observer Flight Sergeant John Bernard Jones. He has no known grave and is still missing.
A photo is taken from another Hudson. The dinghy floats a little further away. There are three crew members on the wing.
The one furthest left is most likely 24-year-old dorsal turret gunner Sergeant Dennis Edward Round. Shortly after taking the photo, he swam to the detached rubber boat, but went under and never came back up. He also has no known grave and is registered as missing.
The pilot Pilot Officer Gummer and radio operator Sergeant McCann managed to climb into the dinghy. They were rescued after 7 hours by the cutter Katwijk 20 and brought ashore in IJmuiden.