Crash of an Avro 683 Lancaster I near Balâtre
Date & Time:
Nov 22, 1942 at 2015 LT
Operator:
Registration:
W4273
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Breighton - Breighton
Crew on board:
7
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
The airplane departed RAF Breighton at 1815LT on an operation to Stuttgart. Over France, it was shot down by the German Flak. With one engine on fire, the pilot made an emergency landing in an open field located near Balâtre. All seven crew members escaped unhurt while the airplane caught fire and was destroyed. Four crew members became PoW and three others evaded.
Crew:
P/O David Taylor Galt, pilot,
Sgt T. H. Hanstock, flight engineer,
P/O Frederick Gordon Given, navigator,
Sgt J. C. Shuttleworth, bomb aimer,
P/O G. R. Berry, wireless operator,
W/O Clifton Edward Austin, air gunner,
P/O Frederick William Hayman, air gunner.
Crew:
P/O David Taylor Galt, pilot,
Sgt T. H. Hanstock, flight engineer,
P/O Frederick Gordon Given, navigator,
Sgt J. C. Shuttleworth, bomb aimer,
P/O G. R. Berry, wireless operator,
W/O Clifton Edward Austin, air gunner,
P/O Frederick William Hayman, air gunner.
Probable cause:
Shot down by the German Flak.
