Bourn AFB

Operator:

Registration:

EF359

Flight Phase:

Flight Type:

Survivors:

Site:

Plain, Valley

Schedule:

Bourn - Bourn

Location:

Binsheim

North Rhine-Westphalia

Country:

Germany

Region:

Europe

Crew on board:

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The airplane departed RAF Bourn at 2137LT on an operation to Duisburg. Approaching the target area, it was shot down by the German Flak and crashed in Binsheim, 8 km north northwest of Duisburg. All seven crew members were killed.
Crew:
P/O Anthony John Gurr, pilot,
Sgt Wilfred Spencer Bragg, flight engineer,
Sgt Percy Lutwyche, navigator,
Sgt Frederick George Lambert, bomb aimer,
Sgt John Evan Samuel Kimber, wireless operator,
Sgt James Hall, air gunner,
Sgt Ivor Wyn Williams, air gunner.

Probable cause:

Shot down by the German Flak.

Crash of a Short S.29 Stirling III at Lyneham AFB

Date & Time: Mar 22, 1943

Type of aircraft:

Landing (descent or approach)

Operator:

Registration:

BK667

Flight Phase:

Flight Type:

Airport (less than 10 km from airport)

Survivors:

Yes

Site:

Schedule:

Bourn - Bourn

Location:

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Circumstances:

The airplane departed RAF Bourn at 1928LT on an operation to Saint-Nazaire. It turned back following major problems with the starboard outer and port inner engines. While trying to land at RAF Lyneham in poor visibility, the Stirling overshot and came down in a field. All eight crew members escaped uninjured.
Crew:
F/Lt J. L. Shiells, pilot,
Sgt G. K. Compson,
Sgt B. Taaffe,
Sgt C. B. Perring,
Sgt L. A. James,
Sgt J. Gould,
Sgt B. J. A. Bessette,
Sgt D. J. A. Hyde, air gunner.

Probable cause:

Double engine failure.

Crash of a Short S.29 Stirling I in Champneuville: 6 killed

Date & Time: Mar 8, 1943 at 2213 LT

Type of aircraft:

Operator:

Registration:

BK697

Flight Phase:

Flight Type:

Survivors:

Site:

Schedule:

Bourn - Bourn

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The airplane departed RAF Bourn at 1936LT on an operation to Nuremberg. Over France, it was shot down by a German fighter and crashed in Champneuville. Six crew members were killed and one parachuted to safety and became PoW.
Crew:
P/O Jack Graham Ripley, pilot, †
Sgt James Francis Farrelly, flight engineer, †
Sgt Archie Melrose Reid, navigator,
Sgt Arthur James Bagg, bomb aimer, †
F/Sgt Clifford Burkill, wireless operator, †
F/Sgt Elmer Keith Matlock, air gunner, †
F/O Lester McBride Wadman, air gunner. †

Probable cause:

Shot down by a German fighter.

Crash of a Short S.29 Stirling I off Heligoland Island: 8 killed

Date & Time: Mar 3, 1943 at 2226 LT

Type of aircraft:

Operator:

Registration:

EF333

Flight Phase:

Flight Type:

Survivors:

Site:

Schedule:

Bourn - Bourn

Location:

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The airplane departed RAF Bourn at 1812LT on an operation to Hamburg. It was shot down by a German fighter and crashed into the North Sea west of Heligoland Island. All eight crew members were killed.
Crew:
P/O William Ian Moffat, pilot,
Sgt Percy John Elton, pilot,
F/Sgt Orison Edwin Amos, navigator,
P/O Ronald William Turner, bomb aimer,
Sgt James McGrane, wireless operator,
Sgt Harold Sherratt, air gunner,
Sgt Thomas James Caveney, air gunner,
P/O Adolf Philip Meijer.

Probable cause:

Shot down by a German fighter.

Crash of a Short S.29 Stirling I in Sint-Maartensdijk: 6 killed

Date & Time: Mar 2, 1943 at 0104 LT

Type of aircraft:

Operator:

Registration:

W7518

Flight Phase:

Flight Type:

Survivors:

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Schedule:

Bourn - Bourn

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The airplane departed RAF Bourn at 1822LT on March 1st on an operation to Berlin. While returning to base the following night, it was shot down by a German fighter and crashed in Sint-Maartensdijk. Six crew members were killed and one became PoW.
Crew:
F/Sgt Arthur Francis Edward Tilley, pilot, †
Sgt William Donald Bowen, flight engineer, †
Sgt Donald Burton Care, navigator, †
F/O Harry Lewis Meller, navigator, †
Sgt Anthony James Sinclair, wireless operator, †
Sgt John Haydn Jones, air gunner, †
Sgt G. E. Williams, air gunner.

Probable cause:

Shot down by a German fighter.

Crash of a Short S.29 Stirling I in Mantgum: 7 killed

Date & Time: Mar 2, 1943 at 0057 LT

Type of aircraft:

Operator:

Registration:

EF347

Flight Phase:

Flight Type:

Survivors:

Site:

Plain, Valley

Schedule:

Bourn - Bourn

Location:

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Region:

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The airplane departed RAF Bourn at 1811LT on March 1st on an operation to Berlin. Shortly after midnight, while returning to base, it was shot down by a German fighter and crashed in Mantgum, killing the entire crew.
Crew:
F/Sgt Harold Stanley Howland, pilot,
Sgt Albert Leslie Hyrons, flight engineer,
Sgt George William Armer, navigator,
Sgt James Gordon Lamb, bomb aimer,
Sgt William Henry Pritchard, wireless operator,
Sgt William Alfred Martin, air gunner,
Sgt George Arthur Moss, air gunner.

Probable cause:

Shot down by a German fighter.

Crash of a Short S.29 Stirling I off Noordwijk: 8 killed

Date & Time: Feb 26, 1943 at 2228 LT

Type of aircraft:

Operator:

Registration:

R9279

Flight Phase:

Flight Type:

Survivors:

Site:

Schedule:

Bourn - Bourn

Location:

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The airplane departed RAF Bourn at 1918LT on an operation to Cologne. While returning to base in the late evening and after passing the Dutch coast, it was shot down by a German fighter and crashed into the North Sea some 50 km west of Noordwijk. All eight crew members were killed.
Crew:
F/Lt Victor Henry Harris, pilot,
F/Sgt Richard Ashdown, pilot,
Sgt Jack Wratten, flight engineer,
Sgt Peter Rogers, navigator,
Sgt Howell Rees Jones, bomb aimer,
Sgt Wilfred Shaw, wireless operator,
Sgt William Roy Matthews, air gunner,
Sgt Sidney Phillips, air gunner.

Probable cause:

Shot down by a German fighter.

Crash of a Short S.29 Stirling I off Ameland Island: 8 killed

Date & Time: Feb 19, 1943 at 2144 LT

Type of aircraft:

Operator:

Registration:

BF411

Flight Phase:

Flight Type:

Survivors:

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Schedule:

Bourn - Bourn

Location:

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The airplane departed RAF Bourn at 1810LT on an operation to Wilhelmshaven. While flying along the Frisian Islands, it was shot down by a German fighter and crashed into the sea some 10 km north of Ameland Island. All eight crew members were killed.
Crew:
P/O John Charles Monteith, pilot,
Sgt Edward William Oxenbridge, copilot,
Sgt Bertram Wallace Willbourn, flight engineer,
Sgt Cyril Noel Goodchild, navigator,
Sgt John George Ethelston, bomb aimer,
Sgt Jack Lewis Richardson, wireless operator,
F/Sgt Duncan Elwin Seeley, air gunner,
F/O Patrick Brennan, air gunner.

Probable cause:

Shot down by a German fighter.

Crash of a Short S.29 Stirling I off Wierum: 7 killed

Date & Time: Feb 19, 1943 at 2118 LT

Type of aircraft:

Operator:

Registration:

BF378

Flight Phase:

Flight Type:

Survivors:

Site: