Avro 679 Manchester

The airplane departed RAF Coningsby at 2200LT on an operation to Berlin. One hour into the flight, the crew reported the right engine had failed. This was the last transmission. Two dead bodies were found but no trace of the airplane nor the rest of the crew. It appears that the airplane crashed into the sea some 30 km off Borkum Island.
Crew (97th Squadron):
F/Lt Gerald Oscar Ladler Bird,
P/O William Adam Brown,
Sgt Wallace Patrick Hannigan, wireless operator,
F/Sgt Kenneth John Hutt, observer,
Sgt Peter Norman Nutt,
Sgt Reginald George Pyatt.

The airplane departed RAF Coningsby in the evening of May 10 on an operation to Berlin. While returning to base and after passing the Dutch coast, the crew encountered technical problems with the engines and ditched the airplane some 23 km off Bergen aan Zee. The airplane sank and was lost while all six crew members took place in a dinghy and were rescued four days later by the crew of a Dutch trawler and became PoW.
Crew (97th Squadron):
Sgt Robert Anderson,
P/O Robert Steen Ayton,
F/Sgt James Bryce,
Sgt Walter Jack Chantler,
Sgt Denis John Harvey,
Sgt Ernest William Ronald Sykes.

The airplane departed RAF Waddington at 2200LT on May 2 on an operation to Hamburg. While approaching the target area at an altitude of 12,000 feet, the airplane was damaged by the German Flak. The captain reduced his altitude in an attempt to make an emergency landing. The bomber just passed over a farm, crash landed in a field and came to rest. All six crew members were rescued and the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.
Crew (207th Squadron):
F/O Deryck Edgar Pinchbeck,
Sgt E. A. C. Lee,
Sgt Alexander Stuart Duncan,
F/S Samuel Edward Panton,
Sgt Walter Muir McGregor,
Sgt Christopher Norman Barron.

The airplane departed RAF Waddington in the evening of April 8 on an operation to Kiel. Just after passing the border between Denmark and Germany, the aircraft was hit by the German Flak. The right engine caught fire and exploded. The crew decided to abandon the aircraft and bailed out. The aircraft crashed in a field and was destroyed, and all six occupants became PoW.
Crew (207th Squadron):
Sgt William Buck,
Sgt Douglas Alfred Budden,
Sgt Leslie William Hedges,
W/Cdr Noel Challis Hyde,
F/Lt Hugh Travers Morgan,
F/Sgt John Wells.

The airplane departed RAF Waddington on an operation to Düsseldorf. While flying over the Netherlands, it was coned by searchlight and shot down by the pilot of a German fighter. The crew abandoned the airplane that dove into the ground and crashed near Bakel. A crew was killed as his parachute failed to open before impact. Five other occupants became PoW.
Crew (207th Squadron):
F/L John Aloysius Siebert, pilot, †
Sgt P. C. Robson, pilot,
Sgt George Thomas John Fomison, observer,
Sgt James Arthur Taylor, wireless operator,
F/Sgt William John Jewell McDougall, bomb aimer,
Sgt Peter Gurnell, air gunner.

The airplane departed RAF Waddington at 0200LT on an operation to Lorient. En route, the crew encountered technical problems and attempted an emergency landing when the aircraft collided with trees and crashed in Wymondham. Four crew members were killed and two others were injured.
Crew (207th Squadron):
Sgt Frank Briant Harwood, pilot, †
Sgt Norman Birch, pilot, †
Sgt R. T. Holland, observer,
Sgt William Cuthbertson Aitken, wireless operator, †
Sgt Bennett Hogg, wireless operator, †
Sgt J. E. Hallam, air gunner.

While accelerating for take off at RAF Waddington, the aircraft was attacked by the pilot of a German JU.88 fighter and exploded. The bomber crashed near the runway end, bursting into flames. It was destroyed by a post crash fire and five of the six occupants were killed.
Crew (207th Squadron):
F/O Hugh Vernon Matthews, pilot, †
Sgt Joseph Marsden, pilot, †
Sgt Henry Cecil Redgrave, †
Sgt Roy Desmond Welch, wireless operator, †
Sgt W. A. W. Cox,
Sgt Harry Walker Hemingway, air gunner. †