Country
United Kingdom

Crash of an Avro 683 Lancaster I at RAF South Cerney

Date & Time: Mar 23, 1943 at 0025 LT
Type of aircraft:
Avro 683 Lancaster
Operator:
Registration:
W4879
Flight Phase:
Landing (descent or approach)
Flight Type:
Bombing
Survivors:
Yes
Site:
Airport (less than 10 km from airport)
Schedule:
Breighton - Breighton
Location:
South Cerney AFB
Gloucestershire
Country:
United Kingdom
Region:
Europe
Crew on board:
7
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
The airplane departed RAF Breighton at 1858LT on March 22 on an operation to Saint-Nazaire. It was badly shot about by a German fighter and crashed the following night while landing at RAF South Cerney. All seven crew members escaped uninjured.
Crew:
Sgt D. E. White, pilot,
Sgt B. Knilands,
F/Sgt W. R. K. Charlton,
Sgt F. H. Ward,
F/Sgt A. K. Parker,
F/Sgt R. H. Baker,
Sgt N. R. Simpson, air gunner.
Probable cause:
Badly shot about by a German fighter.

Crash of an Avro 683 Lancaster I at RAF Waddington

Date & Time: Mar 23, 1943
Type of aircraft:
Avro 683 Lancaster
Operator:
Registration:
W4106
Flight Phase:
Landing (descent or approach)
Flight Type:
Training
Survivors:
Yes
Site:
Airport (less than 10 km from airport)
Schedule:
Waddington - Waddington
Location:
Waddington AFB
Lincolnshire
Country:
United Kingdom
Region:
Europe
Crew on board:
5
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
The crew was performing a local night training exercise at RAF Waddington when the airplane crashed for unknown reasons upon landing and was damaged beyond repair. All five crew members were unhurt.
Crew:
Sgt D. Sharpe, pilot,
Sgt T. Johnstone,
Sgt R. Dash,
Sgt N. Morris,
Sgt E. Griffiths.

Crash of an Avro 683 Lancaster I off Saint-Nazaire: 7 killed

Date & Time: Mar 22, 1943 at 2158 LT
Type of aircraft:
Avro 683 Lancaster
Operator:
Registration:
ED375
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Bombing
Survivors:
No
Site:
Lake, Sea, Ocean, River
Schedule:
Holme-on-Spalding-Moor - Holme-on-Spalding-Moor
Location:
Saint-Nazaire
Loire-Atlantique
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 Holme-on-Spalding-Moor at 1845LT on an operation to Saint-Nazaire. Over the target area, it was shot down by the German Flak and crashed into the sea. All seven crew members were killed.
Crew:
Sgt George Raymond Lewis, pilot,
Sgt William Rishton, flight engineer,
Sgt John Conroy, navigator,
P/O John Leslie Metcalfe, bomb aimer,
Sgt John Henry Sibley, wireless operator,
Sgt John Richard Jeffrey, air gunner,
Sgt Eric Davies, air gunner.
Probable cause:
Shot down by the German Flak.

Crash of an Avro 683 Lancaster I in Atwick: 8 killed

Date & Time: Mar 20, 1943 at 1130 LT
Type of aircraft:
Avro 683 Lancaster
Operator:
Registration:
ED446
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Test
Survivors:
No
Site:
Plain, Valley
Location:
Atwick
East Yorkshire
Country:
United Kingdom
Region:
Europe
Crew on board:
8
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
8
Circumstances:
While performing a test flight, the airplane went out of control and crashed on a beach located in Atwick. All eight crew members were killed.
Crew:
Sgt Ivan Henry Hazard, pilot,
F/O Raymond Henry Thompson,
Sgt James Fortune Bain,
P/O William Ernest Williams,
F/O William Corfield Morris,
Sgt Lawrence Edward Webb,
Sgt Harry Alfred Rideout,
Sgt Terence Jenkins, air gunner.

Crash of an Avro 683 Lancaster I at RAF Scampton

Date & Time: Mar 14, 1943 at 0610 LT
Type of aircraft:
Avro 683 Lancaster
Operator:
Registration:
W4201
Flight Phase:
Landing (descent or approach)
Flight Type:
Bombing
Survivors:
Yes
Site:
Airport (less than 10 km from airport)
Schedule:
Scampton – Scampton
Location:
Scampton AFB
Lincolnshire
Country:
United Kingdom
Region:
Europe
Crew on board:
7
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
The airplane departed RAF Scampton at 1956LT on March 13 to lay mines in the Danzig Bay. It was badly shot about by a German fighter and crashed the following morning while landing at base. Three crew members were injured.
Crew:
F/O W. E. Jeavons, pilot,
Sgt B. G. Carter,
P/O D. W. Warwick,
Sgt R. E. H. Hood-Morris,
P/O R. E. Gibbons,
Sgt G. Cooper,
Sgt J. B. Hughes, air gunner.
Probable cause:
Badly shot about by a German fighter.

Crash of an Avro 683 Lancaster III off Rønne: 7 killed

Date & Time: Mar 14, 1943 at 0010 LT
Type of aircraft:
Avro 683 Lancaster
Operator:
Registration:
ED494
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Bombing
Survivors:
No
Site:
Lake, Sea, Ocean, River
Schedule:
Waddington - Waddington
Location:
Rønne (Bornholm Island)
Hovedstaden
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 Waddington at 2008LT on March 13 to lay mines in the Spinach area off Gdynia. It was shot down by the German Flak and crashed into the Baltic Sea west of Rønne. All seven crew members were killed.
Crew:
W/O Howard Clark Lewis, pilot,
Sgt Douglas Cowie, flight engineer,
Sgt Raymond Leon Laycock, navigator,
Sgt John Ian Mitchell, bomb aimer,
Sgt Reginald Charles Hitchcock, wireless operator,
Sgt Richard Frederick Cunningham, air gunner,
Sgt John Hitchin Howorth, air gunner.
Probable cause:
Shot down by the German Flak.

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

Date & Time: Mar 12, 1943 at 2125 LT
Type of aircraft:
Avro 683 Lancaster
Operator:
Registration:
ED449
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Bombing
Survivors:
No
Site:
Plain, Valley
Schedule:
Skellingthorpe - Skellingthorpe
Location:
Well
Limburg
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 Skellingthorpe at 1940LT on an operation to Essen. Over the Netherlands, it was shot down by a German fighter and crashed in Well, on the east bank of the Maas River. All seven crew members were killed.
Crew:
F/Sgt Frederick Ward, pilot,
Sgt Robert Wilson, flight engineer,
Sgt Frederick Stephens, navigator,
Sgt Ronald Heslop, bomb aimer,
F/Sgt Andrew Allan, wireless operator,
Sgt Richard John Jenkins, air gunner,
F/Sgt Victor Robert David, air gunner.
Probable cause:
Shot down by a German fighter.

Crash of an Avro 683 Lancaster I in Sogny-en-l'Angle: 2 killed

Date & Time: Mar 12, 1943 at 0047 LT
Type of aircraft:
Avro 683 Lancaster
Operator:
Registration:
ED313
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Bombing
Survivors:
Yes
Site:
Plain, Valley
Schedule:
Wyton - Wyton
Location:
Sogny-en-l'Angle
Marne
Country:
France
Region:
Europe
Crew on board:
7
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
2
Circumstances:
The airplane departed RAF Wyton at 2031LT on March 11 on an operation to Stuttgart. While returning to base the following night, it was shot down by a German fighter and crashed in Sogny-en-l'Angle. Two crew members were killed, two evaded and three became PoW.
Crew:
F/Sgt Norman Alexander John Mackie, pilot,
Sgt Ralph Henderson, flight engineer,
F/Lt Allan MacPherson Ogilvie, navigator,
F/Sgt William Eric Barrett, bomb aimer,
F/Sgt Lewis Edward James Humber, wireless operator,
F/Sgt Alexander Lynch, air gunner, †
Sgt Kenneth William Chipchase, air gunner. †
Probable cause:
Shot down by a German fighter.

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

Date & Time: Mar 12, 1943
Type of aircraft:
Avro 683 Lancaster
Operator:
Registration:
ED604
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Bombing
Survivors:
No
Site:
Plain, Valley
Schedule:
Langar - Langar
Location:
Bottrop
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 Langar at 1923LT on an operation to Essen. Approaching the target area, it crashed in unknown circumstances in Bottrop, about 10 km northwest of Essen. All seven crew members were killed.
Crew:
F/O Michael Eugene Doble, pilot,
Sgt Alexander Garden, flight engineer,
F/O Brendan Clitheroe, navigator,
P/O Ian Alistair Hardy Linklater, wireless operator,
Sgt Bernard Leo Litolff, wireless operator,
F/Sgt Robert Stonehouse Carr, air gunner,
F/Sgt Thomas Jack Walker, air gunner.

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

Date & Time: Mar 12, 1943
Type of aircraft:
Avro 683 Lancaster
Operator:
Registration:
R5749
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Bombing
Survivors:
Yes
Site:
Plain, Valley
Schedule:
Syerston - Syerston
Location:
Essen
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 Syerston at 1859LT on an operation to Essen. Over the target area, it was shot down by the German Flak and crashed. Six crew members were killed and one became PoW.
Crew:
P/O Arthur Lennox McDonald, pilot, †
Sgt Kenneth Roland Joseph Youngs, flight engineer, †
Sgt Henry Stuart Fell Bishell, navigator, †
F/Sgt Robert Neil Lindsay, bomb aimer,
Sgt Bernard James Eckett, wireless operator, †
F/Sgt Edward Blake Clampitt, air gunner, †
Sgt Robin Cecil Carrow Owen, air gunner. †
Probable cause:
Shot down by the German Flak.
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