Serial number: L1685

Unit: No 1 squadron

Call sign: N/K

Date of loss: 11/05/1940

One of five Hurricanes sent to intercept 30 Dornier 17 Bombers and their escort of 15 Messerschmitt 110s over Sedan, north-eastern France. Having shot down two of the fighters, Pilot Officer Paul Richey found himself alone facing five Bf110s of 1/ZG26. The dogfight witnessed by the villagers of Rumigny went on for some 15 minutes until P/O Richey fell victim to a head-on attack from one of the Bf110s. An explosion, probably from a cannon shell in the gravity fuel tank in front of the cockpit, enveloped the aircraft in smoke and flames and with some difficulty, he abandoned the aircraft near Brunehamel at 7.15pm. This action is graphically described in Paul Richey's book "Fighter Pilot", covering the phoney war and Battle of France period and is one of the best pieces of WW2 literature published.

Paul Richey was shot down again on the 14th and 19th May, before being invalided back to England. His injuries were such that he was not to fly operationally again until 1941. He survived the war, scoring 10 confirmed victories, winning the DFC and Croix de Guerre and ending his career with the rank of Wing Commander. He died in 1989.

The relics on display here are a series of small pieces of airframe, engine block and a single .303 (7.7mm) bullet recovered in 2000 by an Anglo-French team. The engine and other major components of this aircraft are held at the 'Musée du Souvenir Militaire de Thierache' at Martigny.