Avro 679 Manchester

The airplane departed RAF Woolfox Lodge at 1850LT on an operation to Brest. While returning to base in the evening and cruising over The Channel about 80 km south of Plymouth, the crew sent a short mayday message then the airplane crashed into the sea. SAR operations failed to find any trace of the airplane and one body was found few days later on a beach on the Scilly Islands.
Crew (61st Squadron):
F/Lt Harry Charles Shaw Page, pilot,
P/O Denys Lowe Atkinson,
P/O Alan Gladstone Burt,
Sgt Thomas Alfred Evans,
Sgt Leonard William Dann,
F/Sgt Harry Edward Turner,
Sgt Ronald Sidney Jones,
S/L Thomas Noel Challoner Burrough.

The airplane departed RAF Woolfox Lodge at 1730LT on January 15 on an operation to Hamburg. While returning to base the following night, it ran out of fuel and the crew attempted to divert to RAF Bottesford. Due to poor weather conditions, the crew was unable to localize the airfield. All seven crew members bailed out and abandoned the airplane that entered a dive and crashed in a field. The entire crew escaped uninjured.
Crew (61st Squadron):
F/O J. Beard,
Sgt Haynes,
F/Sgt Asson,
Sgt O. W. J. Pearce,
Sgt Sheppard,
F/Sgt Underwood,
Sgt Holmes.

The airplane departed RAF Bottesford at 1709LT on an operation to Hamburg. While approaching the German coast, it was shot down by the pilot of a German fighter. The captain reduced his altitude and attempted an emergency landing in a field. The aircraft crash landed near Jever AFB and was damaged beyond repair. Five crew members were injured and a sixth was killed.
Crew (207th Squadron):
Sgt James Wilfred Cadman, wireless operator, †
Sgt Geoffrey Ernest Allen,
Sgt Emmanuel George Robert Bestel,
F/O Gerald Bryan Dawkins,
F/Lt Patrick James Edwards,
Sgt John Mercer.

The airplane departed RAF Bottesford at 1735LT on an operation to Hamburg. While approaching the target area, it was hit by the German Flak. The crew decided to return to base but while approaching the coast of Yorkshire, the engine caught fire, probably due to bullets impact. The airplane entered an uncontrolled descent and crashed in Mill Hill, near Holmpton. All seven crew members were killed.
Crew (207th Squadron):
F/Sgt Basil Courtney Wescombe, pilot,
F/Sgt Frederick Edward Thomas, pilot,
Sgt Eric Ronald Harper, observer,
F/Sgt Leonard Sieve, wireless operator and air gunner,
Sgt Claude Raymond Westbury, wireless operator and air gunner,
Sgt John Thomas Howe, air gunner,
Sgt Maurice Robert Walker, air gunner.

The airplane departed RAF North Luffenham in the early morning on an operation to Cherbourg. While outbound, the starboard engine caught fire and the heavily laden aircraft began to lose height. The pilot was reluctant to jettison the bomb load for fear of injuring people on the ground, but as a precaution he ordered six of the crew to bail out. The two pilots then tried to make an emergency landing, but in the pitch black conditions they failed to see a line of trees and the Manchester crashed at 0620LT at Wiltshire Cross near Tidworth. Both pilots were killed and all six other crew members parachuted to safety.
Crew:
P/O Douglas Spencer Matthews, pilot, †
P/O Thomas Ivor Ravenhill Wilson, copilot, †
F/O C. A. Giles, navigator,
Sgt Lorimer, wireless operator,
Sgt Fryer, wireless operator,
P/O S. P. Walsh, air gunner,
Sgt J. Brown, air gunner,
P/O Lancaster, regional control officer.

The airplane departed RAF Bottesford at 0354LT on an operation to Brest. Approaching the French coast, it was shot down by the German Flak and crashed into the Bay of Douarnenez, off Crozon. All seven crew members were killed.
Crew (207th Squadron):
F/O George Reginald Bayley, pilot,
Sgt Noel Messines Toohill,
Sgt Alexander Gordon Harris,
Sgt Richard Vivian Griffiths,
F/Sgt John Elias Jones,
Sgt Peter Charles Herbert Goldie,
Sgt William Rex Seymour.

The crew was engaged in a local bombing practice operation. Just after liftoff, a bomb stored in the cargo bay exploded. A thick smoke spread in the cockpit. Blinded, the pilot reduced the engine power, causing the airplane to stall and to land back on the runway. Out of control, it veered off runway and came to rest. All seven occupants were injured and the airplane was damaged beyond repair.
Crew:
F/Lt G. H. Hartley,
Sgt P. R. Barnes,
Sgt C. W. R. Booth,
Sgt G. H. P. Dean,
Sgt J. Barker,
Sgt C. Mayland,
Sgt R. G. W. Gross.

The airplane departed RAF Waddington at 0934LT on an operation to Brest. Approaching the target area, it was shot down by a Me.109 and crashed into the sea some 7 km off Brest. Four crew members were killed and three others became PoW.
Crew:
Sgt John Robert Conn, †
Sgt George Gardiner Fell, †
Sgt Morton Ralph Heinish, †
P/O Neville George Stokes, †
Sgt Isaac Hewitt,
Sgt Gwynne Pryce Thomas,
Sgt Thomas Michael Wade.

The airplane departed RAF Coningsby at 0930LT on an operation to Brest. Over the target area, it was hit by the German Flak but the pilot was able to evacuate the zone and to return to base. Nevertheless, on final approach to base, the airplane stalled and crashed, killing the entire crew.
Crew:
W/Cdr Denys Finlay Balsdon, pilot,
Sgt Harold Bischlager, pilot,
F/Sgt George Edward Alfred Pendrill, pilot,
F/Sgt Jack Lloyd Gibson, observer,
F/Lt Robert Alan Wright, observer,
Sgt Ronald Thomas Bray, wireless operator,
Sgt Frank Young Downie Kerr, wireless operator,
F/Sgt Leslie William Jones, air gunner.

The airplane departed RAF Woolfox Lodge at 1742LT on an operation to Boulogne-sur-Mer, with 19 other similar aircrafts. While approaching the French coast, the bomber exploded and crashed into the sea few miles offshore. All seven crew members were killed.
Crew (61st Squadron):
S/L John Lawrence Riley, pilot,
Sgt Cyril Leslie Wells, copilot,
F/Sgt John Wilson, radio navigator,
P/O Reginald Adcock, flight engineer,
Sgt James Crawford, air gunner,
Sgt James Benjamin Leight, air gunner,
Sgt John Victor Randall, air bomber.