Crash of an Avro 683 Lancaster I in Enschede: 7 killed

Date & Time: Jan 21, 1943 at 1945 LT
Type of aircraft:
Avro 683 Lancaster
Operator:
Registration:
W4335
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Bombing
Survivors:
No
Site:
City
Schedule:
Elsham Wolds - Elsham Wolds
Location:
Enschede
Overijssel
Country:
Netherlands
Region:
Europe
Crew on board:
7
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
7
Circumstances:
The airplane departed RAF Elsham Wolds at 1743LT on an operation to Essen. While cruising at night, it was shpt down by a German fighter and crashed in Enschede, killing the entire crew.
Crew:
F/Sgt Edward Vivian Laing, pilot,
Sgt Anthony Marshall Willis, flight engineer,
F/Sgt Keith Robert Webber, navigator,
F/Sgt Douglas George Williams, bomb aimer,
F/Sgt Frank Lawrence Boyd, wireless operator,
Sgt Stanley Charles Brewer, air gunner,
Sgt Ronald Taylor, air gunner.
Probable cause:
Shot down by a German fighter.

Crash of an Avro 683 Lancaster I near Krefeld: 6 killed

Date & Time: Jan 13, 1943
Type of aircraft:
Avro 683 Lancaster
Operator:
Registration:
W4338
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Bombing
Survivors:
Yes
Site:
Plain, Valley
Schedule:
Elsham Wolds - Elsham Wolds
Location:
Krefeld
North Rhine-Westphalia
Country:
Germany
Region:
Europe
Crew on board:
7
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
6
Circumstances:
The airplane departed RAF Elsham Wolds at 1659LT on an operation to Essen. Approaching Krefeld, it was shot down by the German Flak and crashed. Six crew members were killed and one became PoW.
Crew:
F/Sgt Bertram Edwin Atwood, pilot, †
F/Sgt Orville Stotts O'Hair, air gunner, †
Sgt Thomas Lynn Davies, flight engineer, †
Sgt A. S. Laird,
F/Sgt Francis James McKeown, bomb aimer, †
Sgt Richard Lyall, wireless operator, †
Sgt Robert Ernest Whiteman, air gunner. †
Probable cause:
Shot down by the German Flak.

Crash of an Avro 683 Lancaster I in Rheidt: 7 killed

Date & Time: Jan 9, 1943
Type of aircraft:
Avro 683 Lancaster
Operator:
Registration:
ED384
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Bombing
Survivors:
No
Site:
Plain, Valley
Schedule:
Elsham Wolds - Elsham Wolds
Location:
Rheidt
North Rhine-Westphalia
Country:
Germany
Region:
Europe
Crew on board:
7
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
7
Circumstances:
The airplane departed RAF Elsham Wolds at 1652LT on an operation to Essen. Over Cologne, it was shot down by the German Flak and crashed in Rheidt, 7 km northwest of Bonn. All seven crew members were killed.
Crew:
Sgt Reginald Henry Morris, pilot,
Sgt Cyril Ernest Hollingworth, flight engineer,
Sgt Alfred Charles Burgess, navigator,
Sgt Reginald Eric Rees Harries, navigator,
Sgt Ernest Cooper, wireless operator,
Sgt William Scobie, air gunner,
Sgt Percy William Adams, air gunner.
Probable cause:
Shot down by the German Flak.

Crash of an Avro 683 Lancaster I in Solre-le-Château: 7 killed

Date & Time: Dec 21, 1942 at 2310 LT
Type of aircraft:
Avro 683 Lancaster
Operator:
Registration:
W4787
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Bombing
Survivors:
No
Site:
Plain, Valley
Schedule:
Elsham Wolds - Elsham Wolds
Location:
Solre-le-Château
Nord
Country:
France
Region:
Europe
Crew on board:
7
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
7
Circumstances:
The airplane departed RAF Elsham Wolds at 1728LT on an operation to Munich. While returning to base in the late evening, it was shot down by a German fighter and crashed in Solre-le-Château, 15 km southeast of Maubeuge. All seven crew members were killed.
Crew:
F/Lt John Colin McIntosh Rose, pilot,
Sgt Frank John Fisher, flight engineer,
Sgt Peter Laird Donald, navigator,
Sgt Gordon Thomas Hawkins, navigator,
F/Sgt William Edward Ryan, wireless operator,
Sgt Edward Jack Smith, air gunner,
Sgt Frederick Trimmer, air gunner.
Probable cause:
Shot down by a German fighter.

Crash of an Avro 683 Lancaster I in Vavincourt: 6 killed

Date & Time: Dec 21, 1942 at 2004 LT
Type of aircraft:
Avro 683 Lancaster
Operator:
Registration:
W4820
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Bombing
Survivors:
Yes
Site:
Plain, Valley
Schedule:
Elsham Wolds - Elsham Wolds
Location:
Vavincourt
Meuse
Country:
France
Region:
Europe
Crew on board:
7
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
6
Circumstances:
The airplane departed RAF Elsham Wolds at 1738LT on an operation to Munich. Over France, it was shot down by a German fighter and crashed in Vavincourt, 28 km northeast of Saint-Dizier. Six crew members were killed and one became PoW.
Crew:
Sgt Colin Evan Bayliss, pilot,
Sgt Gwilym Nicholls, flight engineer, †
P/O Ivor George Arthur Faulk, bomb aimer, †
F/Sgt John Massey Jefferies, †
F/Sgt Robert Ian Robb, wireless operator, †
Sgt Arthur Jeffreys, air gunner, †
Sgt George Henry Kitchen, air gunner. †
Probable cause:
Shot down by a German fighter.

Crash of an Avro 683 Lancaster I near Graft: 7 killed

Date & Time: Dec 20, 1942 at 1925 LT
Type of aircraft:
Avro 683 Lancaster
Operator:
Registration:
W4334
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Bombing
Survivors:
No
Site:
Plain, Valley
Schedule:
Elsham Wolds - Elsham Wolds
Location:
Graft
North Holland
Country:
Netherlands
Region:
Europe
Crew on board:
7
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
7
Circumstances:
The airplane departed RAF Elsham Wolds at 1813LT on an operation to Duisburg. Over the Netherlands, it was shot down by the German Flak and crashed near Graft. All seven crew members were killed.
Crew:
W/O Louis Edmund Moriarty, pilot,
Sgt Eric Airey, flight engineer,
Sgt Ronald Owen Eynon, observer,
F/Sgt Peter Ernest Poulson, navigator,
W/O James Hawthorne Love, wireless operator,
F/Sgt Thomas Bennett, air gunner,
Sgt Alfred Ernest Brown, air gunner.
Probable cause:
Shot down by the German Flak.

Crash of an Avro 683 Lancaster I in Gejlbjerg: 7 killed

Date & Time: Dec 17, 1942 at 1953 LT
Type of aircraft:
Avro 683 Lancaster
Operator:
Registration:
W4786
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Bombing
Survivors:
No
Site:
Plain, Valley
Schedule:
Elsham Wolds - Elsham Wolds
Location:
Gejlbjerg
Syddanmark
Country:
Denmark
Region:
Europe
Crew on board:
7
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
7
Circumstances:
The airplane departed RAF Elsham Wolds at 1735LT to lay mines to the Broccoli region of the Great Belt. Over Denmark, it was shot down by a German fighter and crashed in Gejlbjerg, 2 km southeast of Agerskov. All seven crew members were killed.
Crew:
P/O Harry Bernard Smith, pilot,
Sgt Frederick Reginald Collins, flight engineer,
F/O Samuel Tweedy Hewitt, navigator,
Sgt Gerald Thomas Canterbury, wireless operator,
Sgt Norman Frater, wireless operator,
W/O Jack Athelston Hollinsworth, air gunner,
W/O Angus Daniel MacDonald, air gunner.
Probable cause:
Shot down by a German fighter.

Crash of an Avro 683 Lancaster I in Trebur: 7 killed

Date & Time: Dec 3, 1942 at 0505 LT
Type of aircraft:
Avro 683 Lancaster
Operator:
Registration:
W4339
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Bombing
Survivors:
No
Site:
Plain, Valley
Schedule:
Elsham Wolds - Elsham Wolds
Location:
Trebur
Hesse
Country:
Germany
Region:
Europe
Crew on board:
7
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
7
Circumstances:
The airplane departed RAF Elsham Wolds at 0127LT on an operation to Frankfurt. Over the target area, it was shot down by the German Flak and crashed in Trebur, 16 km southwest of Frankfurt-Main Airport. All seven crew members were killed.
Crew:
F/O Robert Morison Cumming, pilot,
Sgt Hedley Dyke, flight engineer,
Sgt Thomas Tweedy Wilkinson, navigator,
Sgt Alan Moffatt Hamilton, observer,
F/O Reginald Wallace, wireless operator,
F/Sgt John William Edward Wilson, air gunner,
F/Sgt Richard Grange Stolz-Page, air gunner.
Probable cause:
Shot down by the German Flak.

Crash of a Handley Page H.P.57 Halifax II in Moulin-sous-Touvent: 7 killed

Date & Time: Oct 25, 1942 at 0300 LT
Type of aircraft:
Handley Page H.P.57 Halifax II
Operator:
Registration:
W1223
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Bombing
Survivors:
No
Site:
Plain, Valley
Schedule:
Elsham Wolds - Elsham Wolds
Location:
Moulin-sous-Touvent
Oise
Country:
France
Region:
Europe
Crew on board:
7
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
7
Circumstances:
The airplane departed RAF Elsham Wolds at 1844LT on October 24 on an operation to Milan. While returning to base the following night, it was shot down by a German fighter and crashed in Moulin-sous-Touvent. All seven crew members were killed.
Crew:
Sgt Sidney Arthur Claridge, pilot,
Sgt Bernard Dudley Swain, flight engineer,
P/O Ernest Adam Wagstaff, observer,
Sgt Stanley Victor Goodhew, bomb aimer,
F/Sgt Ronald Ward Taylor, wireless operator,
Sgt Kevin William McAuliffe, air gunner,
F/Sgt James Molesworth, air gunner.
Probable cause:
Shot down by a German fighter.

Crash of a Handley Page H.P.57 Halifax II in Nant-le-Grand: 5 killed

Date & Time: Oct 24, 1942 at 2150 LT
Type of aircraft:
Handley Page H.P.57 Halifax II
Operator:
Registration:
W1188
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Bombing
Survivors:
Yes
Site:
Plain, Valley
Schedule:
Elsham Wolds - Elsham Wolds
Location:
Nant-le-Grand
Meuse
Country:
France
Region:
Europe
Crew on board:
8
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
5
Circumstances:
The airplane departed RAF Elsham Wolds at 1828LT on an operation to Milan. While returning to base in the evening, it was shot down by a German fighter and crashed near Nant-le-Grand. Five crew members were killed and three others became PoW.
Crew:
S/L Sidney Horace Fox, pilot, †
Sgt Henry Frederick Wood, pilot, †
Sgt Lawrence Fitzsimmons, flight engineer, †
W/O Herbert J. Spiller, navigator,
F/Sgt Rowland Maddocks, bomb aimer,
P/O Geoffrey Wollerton, wireless operator,
Sgt Philip Charles Heath, air gunner, †
F/Sgt Norman Alexander Mercer, air gunner. †
Probable cause:
Shot down by a German fighter.
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