Date & Time:
Jun 2, 1942
Type of aircraft:
Handley Page H.P.57 Halifax II
Operator:
Registration:
W7698
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Bombing
Survivors:
Yes
Site:
Plain, Valley
Schedule:
Croft - Croft
Country:
Netherlands
Region:
Europe
Crew on board:
6
Crew fatalities:
3
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
0
Other fatalities:
0
Total fatalities:
3
Circumstances:
The airplane departed RAF Croft at 2255LT on June 1st on an operation to Essen. While cruising at an altitude of 14,000 feet, the bomber collided with a German night-fighter and crashed at Winterswijk, some 16 km north-northeast of where the collision occurred. Three crew members were killed and three others became PoW.
Crew:
S/L Geoffrey Douglas Leyland, pilot,
Sgt Joseph Edward Richard Lyons, flight engineer, †
P/O Lloyd George Geddes, navigator,
Sgt Colin Gray Pugsley, bomb aimer,
Sgt Wilfred Brookes, wireless operator, †
Sgt James Strang, air gunner. †
Crew:
S/L Geoffrey Douglas Leyland, pilot,
Sgt Joseph Edward Richard Lyons, flight engineer, †
P/O Lloyd George Geddes, navigator,
Sgt Colin Gray Pugsley, bomb aimer,
Sgt Wilfred Brookes, wireless operator, †
Sgt James Strang, air gunner. †
Probable cause:
In-flight collision with a German night-fighter.
