Crash of a Handley Page H.P.57 Halifax in Geraardsbergen: 8 killed
Date & Time:
May 13, 1944 at 0035 LT
Operator:
Registration:
LW682
Survivors:
No
Crew on board:
8
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
8
Circumstances:
The crew left his base in UK at 2205LT on May 12 on a bombing mission to Leuven. The target was attacked between 0028 and 0035LT. At this time, the bomber was shot down by the pilot of a German Messerschmitt Me.110 and crashed in a wooded area located south of Geraardsbergen. All eight occupants, members of the RCAF, were killed.
Crew (426th Squadron):
F/S W. B. Bentz, pilot,
F/O T. W. Taylor, navigator,
F/O C. S. Phillips, bomb aimer,
AC1 J. E. McIntyre, wireless operator,
Sgt R. Ellerslie, flight engineer,
F/S J. E. J. G. Arbour, mid-under gunner,
Sgt F. Roach, rear gunner,
Sgt J.W. Summerhayes, mid-upper gunner.
Crew (426th Squadron):
F/S W. B. Bentz, pilot,
F/O T. W. Taylor, navigator,
F/O C. S. Phillips, bomb aimer,
AC1 J. E. McIntyre, wireless operator,
Sgt R. Ellerslie, flight engineer,
F/S J. E. J. G. Arbour, mid-under gunner,
Sgt F. Roach, rear gunner,
Sgt J.W. Summerhayes, mid-upper gunner.
Probable cause:
Shot down by a German fighter.
