Date & Time:
May 11, 1941 at 0410 LT
Type of aircraft:
Avro 679 Manchester
Operator:
Registration:
L7323
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Bombing
Survivors:
Yes
Site:
Lake, Sea, Ocean, River
Schedule:
Coningsby - Coningsby
Country:
Netherlands
Region:
Europe
Crew on board:
6
Crew fatalities:
0
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
0
Other fatalities:
0
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
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.
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.
Probable cause:
Engine failure in flight.
