Avro 683 Lancaster

Operator:

Registration:

R5622

Flight Phase:

Flight Type:

Survivors:

Site:

Plzeň Region (Plzeňský kraj)

Schedule:

Wyton - Wyton

Location:

Dobřany

Country:

Czech Republic

Region:

Europe

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The airplane departed RAF Wyton at 2129LT on April 16 on an operation to Plzeň. It was shot down by the German Flak and crashed in Dobřany, 10 km southwest of Plzeň. All seven crew members were killed.
Crew:
P/O Frank Cyril Milton, pilot,
F/Sgt Roy Beaven, flight engineer,
F/O Norman Milton McLellan, navigator,
F/Lt Walter Basil Wells, navigator,
Sgt Alex Podolsky, wireless operator,
F/Sgt Jack Rodgers, air gunner,
Sgt Maurice Kleinhorn, air gunner.

Probable cause:

Shot down by the German Flak.

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

Date & Time: Apr 17, 1943 at 0128 LT

Type of aircraft:

Operator:

Registration:

ED379

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Schedule:

Holme-on-Spalding-Moor - Holme-on-Spalding-Moor

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The airplane departed RAF Holme-on-Spalding-Moor at 2121LT on April 16 on an operation to Plzeň. It was shot down by the German Flak and crashed in Dutzendteich, in the southeast suburb of Nuremberg. Six crew members were killed and the wireless operator became PoW.
Crew:
F/Sgt Colin Kerr Menzies, pilot, †
Sgt Harold Albert Upton, flight engineer, †
Sgt Henry Evans, navigator, †
F/O Thomas Maxwell Taylor, bomb aimer, †
Sgt Lionel Green, wireless operator,
F/Sgt James Henry Fitch, air gunner, †
Sgt Jack Monks, air gunner. †

Probable cause:

Shot down by the German Flak.

Crash of an Avro 683 Lancaster III in Nalbach: 7 killed

Date & Time: Apr 17, 1943 at 0110 LT

Type of aircraft:

Operator:

Registration:

ED564

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Schedule:

Grimsby - Grimsby

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The airplane departed RAF Grimsby at 2120LT on April 16 on an operation to Plzeň. It was shot down by a German fighter and crashed in Nalbach, 21 km northwest of Saarbrücken. All seven crew members were killed.
Crew:
F/Lt Robert Eric Milliken, pilot,
Sgt Thomas Evan Jones, flight engineer,
F/Sgt William Harris George, navigator,
P/O William Highmoor Walton, bomb aimer,
Sgt Raymond Edward Joseph Hunt, wireless operator,
Sgt George James Good, air gunner,
Sgt Maxwell Whitby, air gunner.

Probable cause:

Shot down by a German fighter.

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

Date & Time: Apr 17, 1943 at 0105 LT

Type of aircraft:

Operator:

Registration:

W4854

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Schedule:

Warboys - Warboys

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The airplane departed RAF Warboys at 2126LT on April 16 on an operation to Plzeň. The following night, it was shot down by the German Flak and crashed in Brimont. All seven crew members were killed.
Crew:
P/O Harald Roy Andersen, pilot,
Sgt Patrick Langston Brougham-Faddy, flight engineer,
P/O Kenneth Winchcombe Bordycott, navigator,
Sgt Bernard Hamilton Gooding, navigator,
P/O Frederick Smith, wireless operator,
Sgt John Thomas Stephens, air gunner,
F/Sgt William Oldfield Woolnough, air gunner.

Probable cause:

Shot down by the German Flak.

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

Date & Time: Apr 17, 1943 at 0034 LT

Type of aircraft:

Operator:

Registration:

W4942

Flight Phase:

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Schedule:

Breighton - Breighton

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The airplane departed RAF Breighton at 2106LT on April 16 on an operation to Plzeň. It was shot down by a German fighter and crashed in Horchheim, southwest of Worms. All seven crew members were killed.
Crew:
F/Sgt John Norman Williams, pilot,
Sgt John Courtney Bell, flight engineer,
F/Sgt Edwin Cyril Ebbott,
F/Sgt Edwin Robert King,
Sgt Leslie Charles Smith, wireless operator,
Sgt Edward John Ablewhite, air gunner,
Sgt Alfred William Clark, air gunner.

Probable cause:

Shot down by a German fighter.

Crash of an Avro 683 Lancaster III in Böblingen: 8 killed

Date & Time: Apr 17, 1943 at 0028 LT

Type of aircraft:

Operator:

Registration:

ED711

Flight Phase:

Flight Type:

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Schedule:

Breighton - Breighton

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The airplane departed RAF Breighton at 2059LT on April 16 on an operation to Plzeň. Shortly after midnight, it was shot down by a German fighter and crashed in Böblingen, 16 km southwest of Stuttgart. All eight crew members were killed.
Crew:
P/O David Edward White, pilot,
Sgt James Scott Stewart, pilot,
Sgt Bruce Knilands, flight engineer,
P/O William Roy Kenneth Charlton, navigator,
F/Sgt Francis Henry Ward, bomb aimer,
P/O Alfred Kenneth Parker, wireless operator,
F/Sgt Alan Keilier Smith, air gunner,
F/Sgt Robert Henry Baker, air gunner.

Probable cause:

Shot down by a German fighter.

Crash of an Avro 683 Lancaster III in Rentrisch: 7 killed

Date & Time: Apr 17, 1943 at 0025 LT

Type of aircraft:

Operator:

Registration:

ED563

Flight Phase:

Flight Type:

Survivors:

Site:

Schedule:

Grimsby - Grimsby

Location:

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The airplane departed RAF Grimsby at 2122LT on April 16 on an operation to Plzeň. Shortly after midnight, it was shot down by a German fighter and crashed in Rentrisch, 7 km northeast of Saarbrücken. All seven crew members were killed.
Crew:
Sgt Donald Keith Atkinson, pilot,
Sgt Norman Vanston, flight engineer,
F/Sgt Ian Stewart Brown, navigator,
Sgt John Rutter, bomb aimer,
Sgt Robert Frank Clutterbuck, wireless operator,
P/O Peter Vivian Monk, air gunner.
F/Sgt Peter Rudick, air gunner.

Probable cause:

Shot down by a German fighter.

Crash of an Avro 683 Lancaster III in Plzeň: 4 killed

Date & Time: Apr 17, 1943

Type of aircraft:

Plzeň Region (Plzeňský kraj)

Operator:

Registration:

ED651

Flight Phase:

Flight Type:

Survivors:

Site:

Schedule:

Bottesford - Bottesford

Location:

Plzeň

Country:

Czech Republic

Region:

Europe

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The airplane departed RAF Bottesford at 2125LT on April 16 on an operation to the Škoda factory in Plzeň. It is believed that it was shot down by enemy fire over the target area. Three crew members were killed and four others were injured. One of the survivors died from injuries sustained on April 23.
Crew:
Sgt Bruce Craig Wilson, pilot,
Sgt Ralph Henry Pallender, flight engineer, †
F/O Frederick Gabriel Boswell,
P/O Robert Stitt,
Sgt Harold Frederick Goode, wireless operator, †
Sgt William Watson Bannatyne, air gunner, †
Sgt Robert Dunn, air gunner. †

Probable cause:

Shot down by enemy fire.

Crash of an Avro 683 Lancaster I in Poix-de-Picardie: 7 killed

Date & Time: Apr 17, 1943

Type of aircraft:

Operator:

Registration:

ED780

Flight Phase:

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