British Aircrew Crew Losses - WW2 Files

Bob Wilton
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Re: British Aircrew Crew Losses - WW2 Files

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LK121 Stirling.png
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Bob Wilton
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Re: British Aircrew Crew Losses - WW2 Files

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Short Stirling & RAF Bomber Command Forum

Hampden I P1201 UB-P 455 Squadron Operation Rover Patrol 7/8 November 1941

The crew of this aircraft took off from their base at 1840 hours on Friday
7th November 1941. After carrying out a low level bombing and machine-gun -
attack on the searchlight belt at Aachen-Mamstrick the pilot turned for home
flying at low level. Due to an incorrect meteorological forecast the aircraft
ended up off the intended course which took it into the foothills of the
Ardennes in Belgium. Whilst flying at 350 feet the aircraft collided with a
350 foot chimney stack and the impact tore off the lower part of the fuselage
and also the air gunners turret.The main fuel lines to the engines were damaged
and both engines stopped. The pilot had to make a quick decision to make a
crash landing.Luckily P/O J.D.Cordwell and Sgt M.N.Stokes both RAF came out
of the crash with slight burns. The gunner Sgt E.Holt RAF was taken to hospital
with injuries and he made a full recovery. The Pilot P/O J.A.C.Gordon RAAF was
unijured. All four crew members spent the rest of the war as prisoners of war.

P/O J.A.C. Gordon RAAF Pow
P/O J.D.Cordwell RAF Pow
Sgt M.N.Stokes RAF Pow
Sgt E.Holt RAF Pow
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Re: British Aircrew Crew Losses - WW2 Files

Post by Bob Wilton »

Short Stirling & RAF Bomber Command Forum

Lancaster III ND557 MG-F. RAF 7 Squadron. Operatation Stuttgart 15/16 March 1944

The crew of Lancaster ND557 took off from their base at 1939 hours on Wednesday 15th March after being briefed
to bomb a Target at Stuttgart. At approximately 2300 hours the aircraft was seen approaching the German village
of Tannheim, and a witness said that it was burning fiercely in the air,and was seen to crash and explode on impact.
The explosion was so great that it rocked the surrounding area and it was believed to have been carrying its full
bomb load. The crater was 100 feet wide and 25 feet deep,and the wreckage was spread over a very wide area.
The bodies of the eight crew members were recovered by a Luftwaffe unit,and were buried i and were on Tuesday
21st March in the village cemetery at Villingen. The wreckage of Lancaster ND557 was taken away by a Luftwaffe
salvage unit.

After the war the No:2 MREU visited the scene of the crash which was on a hillside directly on the boundaries of three
small villages, Tannheim,Welterdingen and Klengen, which are situated approximately 6 Km NW of Donauchingen.
Map reference: L.49/W.525330.

P/O D.A.Carter RAAF +
P/O P.H.Hamby RAF +
SGT H.P.Riddle RAF +
F/O K.C.Dyer RAAF +
F/O I.H.Nicholson RCAF +
SGT R.G.Ryder RAF +
F/S G.A.Johnston RAAF +
F/S R.S.Smith RAAF +

We Shall Remember Them
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Re: British Aircrew Crew Losses - WW2 Files

Post by Bob Wilton »

Short Stirling & Bomber Command Forum

Lancaster I PA265 UL-O2 RAF 576 Squadron Operation Nurnberg 16/17 March,1945

The crew of Lancaster PA265 UL-O2 took of from their base at Fiskerton at 1725 hours
on an operation to Nurnberg Germany. At 2300 hours Herr Siechart of the village of
Wieseth stated that during the attack on Nurnberg during the evening of Friday 16th
March,1945,that an aircraft had crashed two kilometre west of the village and had
blown up on contact with the ground.

The owner of the wood Herr Karl Buekel was at the time of the crash was in his home,which
was situated approximately 200 yards from the crash scene went immediately to investigate.
As he was standing by the wreckage a parachutist, later to be identified as Sergeant Hall
the rear gunner came down close by him. Sergeant Hall wanted to approach the aircraft but,
was prevented from doing so as their was a live unexploded 4000 Lb bomb in the wreckage.
Herr Siechart took Sergeant Hall prisoner and handed him over the local Bürgermeister.

The six members of the crew were buried in the local village cemetery and was organised by
the Bergermeister who was also a local Ortsguppenleiter.The burial took place on Sunday the
18th March.

Later the American Army arrived and supervised the disposal of the bomb,and contacted a local
scrap dealer named Lechler who removed all the wreckage to his yard at Feuchtwangen.

After the war the RAF MREU discovered that the wartime Bürgermeister was in prison awaiting a
war crimes trial.

The Crew:

F/S J.F.Ryan RAAF +
Sgt J.E.Taylor RAFVR +
Sgt A.W.Garnet RCAF +
F/S K.L.Challis RAFVR +
Sgt D.W.E. Swift RAFVR +
Sgt J.Symonds RAFVR +
Sgt H.A.Hall RAFVR POW
Dicam ex animo. Sed nostri evocatis, ut debemus eis libertatem.
Bob Wilton
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Re: British Aircrew Crew Losses - WW2 Files

Post by Bob Wilton »

Short Stirling & Bomber Command Forum


Lancaster III ED920 LE-D RAF 630 Squadron East Kirkby Lincolnshire Operation Leipzig Germany 03/04 December 1943


At 0031 hours on Sunday the 3rd December 1943,the crew of this Lancaster took off on an
operation to bomb a target at Leipzig. On reaching the target area the crew came under
attack from a night fighter which had attacked their aircraft from below.The attack was
to cause their Lancaster to almost lose control,and the Pilot Pilot Officer J.Symee then
ordered his crew to bail out at approximately 0400 hours.

The aircraft was observed from the ground to be circling the village of Volgfelde and was
burning in the air,and it appeared to be trying to make a crash landing. Meanwhile in the
aircraft the crew were starting to bail out.Then an explosion occurred which blew Sergeant
Cattley out of the aircraft. Back on the ground witnesses saw the Lancaster plunging to the
ground,and crashing 200 to 300 metres south west of the village close to the main road to
Gardelegen.Then a large explosion occurred, and the witnesses believed that the aircraft had
crashed with its full bomb load.On the ground the wreckage of the aircraft burnt fiercely for
more than two hours. When the fire had subsided, it was found that the explosion had scattered
the wreckage over a wide area,and that one of its engines had buried itself in the ground nearly
five metres away.The locals at Volgfelde were informed by a Luftwaffe officer at the crash scene
that the target had been Leipzig and that it was a possibilty that the aircraft had been attacked
by a night fighter before it reached its target.At daylight the Luftwaffe salvage unit found the
bodies of three of the crew,and the Luftwaffe asked the community of Volgfelde to bury the airmen
in the local village cemetery.The funeral took place on Tuesday the 5th December in the presence
of the local Bürgermeister.

The Crew:

P/O J.Syme RAAF +
Sgt G.Leggott RAFVR +
Sgt E.Hubbert RAFVR +
F/O J.C.Doherty RAFVR +
Sgt D.Cattley RAFVR POW*
Sgt K.Swinchatt RAFVR +
Sgt J.Heron RAFVR +

*Sergeant Cattley was a prisoner of war at Stalag IV-B Mühlberg, Brandenburg,POW Number 267151

We Shall Remember Them
Dicam ex animo. Sed nostri evocatis, ut debemus eis libertatem.
Bob Wilton
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Re: British Aircrew Crew Losses - WW2 Files

Post by Bob Wilton »

Short Stirling & Bomber Command Forum


Sirling I N6001 MG-. RAF 7 Squadron RAF Oakington. Operation Hamburg 29/30 June 1941

The crew of Stirling N6001 took off at 2257 hours on the evening of Sunday 29th June 1941 on
an operation to bomb a target at the German City of Hamburg Germany. At approximately 0210
hours a farmer at the village of Stemmuhlen bei Beverstedtbobserved the Stirling flying very
low and appeared to be hedge hopping trying to avoid anti aircraft fire.All the engines were
observed be running perfectly. Herr Heinrich Rosebrock then saw the aircraft dip and it crashed
into one of his fields and on impact there was a violent explosion which killed all the crew
instantaneously.The crew were recoved from the crash site and were buried at Geestermunde
Cemetery,Wesermunde. In 1946 the crew were reinterred in Becklingen Military Cemetery Soltau.

The Crew:

S/L W.T.C.Seale RAF +
Sgt R.L.Barrett RAAF +
F/S B.Grocock RAF +
Sgt R.E.Walls " +
Sgt L.Whittle " +
Sgt H.T.Archer " +
Sgt M.G.Brown " +

"We Shall Remember Them"
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Bob Wilton
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Re: British Aircrew Crew Losses - WW2 Files

Post by Bob Wilton »

Short Stirling & RAF Bomber Command Forum

Halifax III LV943 HD-G.466 Squadron Operation Nantes-le-Jolie 06/07 May 1944.

After satisfactorily bombing the target LV943 turned for home.About 15 minutes before reaching the coast
in the vicinity Forges le-Eaux at about 17000 feet.The pilot corkscrewed starboard to avoid the fighters fire,
but the aircraft did not pull out of its dive but levelled out a little and then continued its descent from 5-10
degrees from normal. Inside the aircraft from the cockpit aft was a mass of reddish white flames.
The fighter had attacked from the fine starboard quarter and its cannon shells burst all along the fuselage.
The mid upper gunners turret was hit,and he was hit by flying perspex and was momentarily dazed. When he
gained his senses he heard the pilot give the order to abandon the aircraft. During the action nothing was
nothing heard from the rear gunner F/S Garske.The crew then started to bail out. W/O Cullen, F/S Perry and
W/O Doherty were all seen to bail out successfully. Meanwhile inside the aircraft the Flight Engineer who had
already donned his parachute was handing the pilot his. The next to jump out was F/S Schulz, and as he did
so he pulled his rip cord and the parachute did no employ, so he tore at the flap and it opened successfully.
As he descended the Halifax was flying straight and level and the port engines and mainplane were well
ablaze. Then the port inner engine fell away from the aircraft, and the wing stalled, then Halifax LV943 went
into a spin and spiralled down to the ground. Sgt Wallace as he descended saw the aircraft start to circle him
trailing sparks as it went down, and he heard it exploded as it hit the ground, and heard the ammunition
exploding.

The Crew:

P/O E.Hourigan RAAF Evader
Sgt J. Dickens RAFVR "
W/O C.R.Cullen RAAF Pow
F/S R.W.Perry RAAF "
W/O O.J. Doherty RAAF "
F/S L.N.Schulz RAAF "
F/S L.J.Garske RAAF "

All the above crew survived WWII

Flight Sergeant Lawrence Nestor Schulz 417524 RAAF Evader

Flight Sergeant Schulz the mid upper gunner made good his escape and evaded capture and
with nine other evaders made their way towards Spain. The party of evaders crossed the
Spanish border at 0500 hours on the morning of Monday 5th June,1944. On crossing the
border they travelled together over the mountains until they reached a small Spanish
village where they were detained by the local police who treated them very well,and
provided them with refreshments. The police then arranged accomodation for them at a
local hotel. The ten airmen pooled their escape money to pay for the hotel, Flight
Sergeant Schulz's contribution being 1,000 French Francs which he took from his escape
kit.

The following day they were taken under police escort to Pamplona, where the met a
representative from the British Consul who gave them 85 Pesetas each. From there they
were taken to a small village called Leiza,which was situated approximately 50 Km from
Pamplona,and it was there that they were given a set of civilian clothes, and toiletries
by the British Embassy. After spending three days at Leiza they returned to Pamplona,and
the same evening were taken under escort of a Spanish Air Force Officer and travelled to
Serragoza arriving there about midnight. At Serragoza the boarded an air force bus which
Alhama,where they stayed for three days,and then they were transported to Madrid, and
spent another three days. From there they took a train under escort to Gibraltar and they
arrived there on Monday 19th June,1944. On Saturday the 24th June, they were flown back
to the UK.
Dicam ex animo. Sed nostri evocatis, ut debemus eis libertatem.
Bob Wilton
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Re: British Aircrew Crew Losses - WW2 Files

Post by Bob Wilton »

Short Stirling & RAF Bomber Command Forum


Stirling III LJ442 JN-F. 75 New Zealand Squadron. Operation Leverkusen 19/20 November 1943



The crew of this Stirling took of from their base at RAF Mepal at 1701 hours on the afternoon
of Friday the 19th November 1943.Over Germany,just before the E.T.A. at target expired, the
navigator informed the pilot that they were running three minutes late. At the time the target
was not in sight and there were mo Path Finder idicators to be seen. The pilot proceeded to the
end of his E.T.A.,and then started to orbit.Whilst orbiting he saw flares going down on a divers-
ionary attack on Duisburg, the aircraft started to get struck by predicted flak. He then completed
the orbit, and gave the order to the bomb airmer to jettison the bomb load.Then the navigator
then set course for home,and at that time the aircraft was flying at 13,000 feet. Twenty minutes
later the aircraft came under attack by an unidentified night fighter,which attacked four times
with cannon fire,which struck the Stirling starboard petrol tanks. From his position the mid-upper
gunner reported that the starboard wing was on fire near to the wing root, and shortly afterwards
the flames spread along the fuselage.

The order to abandon the aircraft was given by the pilot but,he received no acknowledgement from
his crew,and assumed that they were all putting on their parachutes,and preparing to bail out.
The Stirling at this time had lost altitude and was now flying at 8,000 feet,and the pilot then
observed the bomb aimer leave the aircraft by the front escape hatch. The pilot then put on his
own parachute,and was just adjusting it,when a large explosion occurred,and the next thing that
he knew was coming on the ground. It was hen he discovered that he had a bad laceration behind
his left ear,and his left hand little finger,and his face hadbeen cut too. Discovering that he
had difficulty moving his head,he was later to discover that he had fractured a small bone in
his neck,and that he had suffered three broken ribs on the right hand side. On the ground he
not see any of his fellow crew members from the moment he had been blown out of the aircraft.
With all his injuries,he managed to evade capture and made his way to Spain,arriving there on
Saturday 1st of January 1944.

The crew:

F/S N.N.Parker RAAF Evaded
Sgt S.Watkins RAFVR +
Sgt R.E.Griffith RAFVR Evaded
Sgt J.E.Hyde RNZAF POW
P/O W.R.Kell RNZAF +
Sgt W.Gilfillan RAFVR +
Sgt M.I.R.Day RAFVR +

We Will Remember Them
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Bob Wilton
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Re: British Aircrew Crew Losses - WW2 Files

Post by Bob Wilton »

Short Stirling & RAF Bomber Command Forum


Lancaster I LM117 LE-J. 630 Squadron. RAF East Kirkby. Operation Revigny France 18/19 July 1944

The crew of this aircraft took off at 2245 hours on the night of Tuesday 18th July 1944, to bomb
came under ant aircraft fire whit and damaged the Lancaster,causing it to be abandoned. All the
seven man crew managed to bale out safely but,when Flight Sergeant Beckhouse landed just outside
the French village of Togny-Aux-Boeufe he was captured by the German military,and according to the
Mayor had been murdered after capture by a single shot to the head. The Germans brought his body
to the Mayor,and presented him with a Mae West bearing the name of F/S Beckhouse.The Mayor made
arrangements for his body to be buried in the village church cemetery.

As for the fate of the other members ofthis crew is as follows: Three managed to evade capture,and
three were captured and became prisoners of war.

Captured German records record Lancaster LM117 as being shot down at 0130 hours on Wednesday the
19th July.

The family of Flight Sergeant Beckhouse RAAF were notified on how he was killed by the Germans.

The Crew:

F/O B.W.Brittain RAAF Evaded
Sgt R.F.Gannon RAFVR POW
F/S S.R.Ashton RAFVR POW
F/S E.Couchman RAFVR Evaded
F/S G.E.Beckhouse RAAF +
Sgt D.A.Grant RCAF Evaded
F/S E.H.Wells RAFVR POW

Flight Sergeant 424354 Gordon Edwin Beckhouse was an Australian. He was the son of Robert Cooper Beckhouse
and Isobel Elizabeth Beckhouse, of Sydney,New South Wales,Australia. He was 20 years old.

" We Will Remember Him
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Bob Wilton
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Re: British Aircrew Crew Losses - WW2 Files

Post by Bob Wilton »

Short Stirling & RAF Bomber Command Forum

*Lancaster HK548 KO-. RAF 115 Squadron, RAF Witchford,Operation Massy Palaiseau,France 07/08 June 1944

The crew of this aircraft took of a 0023 hours on the morning of Thursday 8th June to bomb a target at Massy Palaiseau.
whilst over France and on the run in to the target the crew came under attack by two night fighters.The fighters shot
up the port inner engine which caused a fire, which was quickly extinguished.The starboard inner engine had also been
hit during the attack,and the fire spread across the starboard wing and could not be extinguished. The order was given
to abandon aircraft.Flight Sergeant Nurse bailed out at about 6000 feet,and after landing safely was unable to contact
any other member of his crew,except his pilot, Pilot Officer Law, who informed him that Sergeant Parkinson, Flight-
Sergeant Washbourne and Sergeant Russel had all bailed out.

Later on the ground Sgt Parkinson had met up with F/S Washbourne about ten minutes after landing,and both airmen had
spent the night together in a house at Chatenay,which was about six miles from Paris.Flight Sergeant Washbourne was
suffering from a sprained ankle and was unable to move immediately. However,he left the next day with a young French
18 year old Frenchman who was to be his guide and was under the instructions of the French Resistance. Sgt Parkinson was
later advised that F/S Washbourne and his young French guide had been picked up and arrested by a German soldier in
Paris,and that F/S Parkinson hads been wearing civilian clothes when captured. It appears F/S Parkinson had been shot at
some time after being arrested. The British War office made an official enquiry to the German Government as to ascertaining
the circumstances regardin Flight Sergeant Washbournes death whilst in custody but. the Germans did not reply.
There are no prisoner of war details for the six members of this crew who survived,so it can be only assumed that they made
it safely to the allied lines.

The Crew:
P/O E.A.Law RAAF Safe
Sgt A.Russell RAFVR (F/E) Safe
Sgt. J.W.Parkinson RAFVR ( Nav) Safe
F/S J.R.Nurse (WOP) Safe
F/S G.Washbourne RAAF ( B/A) +
Sgt H.Murphy RAFVR ( MUG) Safe
Sgt P.Murphy RAFVR ( A /G) Safe
'We Will Rember Him'

*This aircraft and crew are not listed in BCL 1944
Dicam ex animo. Sed nostri evocatis, ut debemus eis libertatem.
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