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

Date & Time: Jul 9, 1943 at 0130 LT
Type of aircraft:
Avro 683 Lancaster
Operator:
Registration:
ED923
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Bombing
Survivors:
No
Site:
Plain, Valley
Schedule:
Bourn - Bourn
Location:
Bassenge
Liege
Country:
Belgium
Region:
Europe
Crew on board:
7
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
7
Circumstances:
The airplane departed RAF Bourn at 2316LT on July 8 on an operation to Cologne. While returning to base the following night and passing over Belgium, it was shot down by a German fighter and crashed in Bassenge, killing the entire crew.
Crew:
F/O Robert Bertram Douglas Palmer, pilot,
Sgt Charles Victor King, flight engineer,
F/O Ramesh Chandra Dutta, navigator,
Sgt William Stephens, bomb aimer,
Sgt Alan Raymond Harris, wireless operator,
Sgt Douglas Cameron, air gunner,
Sgt Dennis Charles Herbert Holding, air gunner.
Probable cause:
Shot down by a German fighter.

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

Date & Time: Jul 4, 1943
Type of aircraft:
Avro 683 Lancaster
Operator:
Registration:
ED917
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Bombing
Survivors:
No
Site:
Plain, Valley
Schedule:
Bourn - Bourn
Location:
Cologne
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 Bourn at 2235LT on July 3 on an operation to Cologne. The exact location of the crash remains unknown but it is believed that it was shot down by the German Flak over the target area. Lost without trace.
Crew:
F/O Lewis Garnier Rembridge, pilot,
Sgt Richard Charles Sydney Golding, flight engineer,
F/O William John Hills, navigator,
F/O Henry Weston Parry, bomb aimer,
W/O Geoffrey Raymond Cobby, wireless operator,
Sgt Arthur Jones, air gunner,
Sgt Frank Morrison Lamb, air gunner.
Probable cause:
Shot down by the German Flak.

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

Date & Time: Jun 29, 1943 at 0125 LT
Type of aircraft:
Avro 683 Lancaster
Operator:
Registration:
LM323
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Bombing
Survivors:
No
Site:
Plain, Valley
Schedule:
Bourn - Bourn
Location:
Solwaster
Liege
Country:
Belgium
Region:
Europe
Crew on board:
7
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
7
Circumstances:
The airplane departed RAF Bourn at 2251LT on June 28 on an operation to Cologne. Passing over Belgium, it was shot down by a German fighter and crashed in Solwaster, killing the entire crew.
Crew:
F/Lt Frederick Phillip Seward, pilot,
Sgt Brynley Edmond Lewis, flight engineer,
F/Lt Eric Sanderson, navigator,
F/O Ernest Edward Lawton, bomb aimer,
F/Sgt Kenneth Ivor Smith, wireless operator,
F/Sgt Malcolm David Horner, air gunner,
Sgt Albert Monaghan, air gunner.
Probable cause:
Shot down by a German fighter.

Crash of an Avro 683 Lancaster III into the North Sea: 7 killed

Date & Time: Jun 25, 1943 at 0230 LT
Type of aircraft:
Avro 683 Lancaster
Operator:
Registration:
LM327
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Bombing
Survivors:
No
Site:
Lake, Sea, Ocean, River
Schedule:
Bourn - Bourn
Location:
North Sea
World
Country:
World
Region:
World
Crew on board:
7
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
7
Circumstances:
The airplane departed RAF Bourn at 2241LT on June 24 on an operation to Wuppertal. While returning to base the following night, it was shot down by a German fighter and crashed into the North Sea off the Dutch coast. All seven crew members were killed.
Crew:
F/Lt Joseph Laurence Moore, pilot,
F/Sgt Robert Alfred Kerckhove, flight engineer,
S/L James Parker McMillin, navigator,
P/O William James Stephen, bomb aimer,
F/Sgt Alan Tomlinson, wireless operator,
Sgt John William Darroch, air gunner,
Sgt Louis Leslie Davis, air gunner.
Probable cause:
Shot down by a German fighter.

Crash of an Avro 683 Lancaster III in Utrecht: 5 killed

Date & Time: Jun 23, 1943 at 0055 LT
Type of aircraft:
Avro 683 Lancaster
Operator:
Registration:
ED928
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Bombing
Survivors:
Yes
Site:
City
Schedule:
Bourn - Bourn
Location:
Utrecht
Utrecht
Country:
Netherlands
Region:
Europe
Crew on board:
7
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
5
Circumstances:
The airplane departed RAF Bourn at 2252LT on June 22 on an operation to Mülheim. Passing over the Netherlands, it was shot down by a German fighter and crashed in Utrecht. Five crew members were killed and two others became PoW.
Crew:
P/O George Wesley Armstrong, pilot, †
Sgt Edward Bellis, flight engineer,
F/Sgt John James Mansfield, navigator, †
W/O Joseph Jean Baptiste Sylv David, bomb aimer, †
Sgt David Ellis Williams, wireless operator, †
F/O Sydney Blackhurst, air gunner, †
F/Sgt Alexander Rutherford Laing, air gunner.
Probable cause:
Shot down by a German fighter.

Crash of an Avro 683 Lancaster III near Oudesluis: 3 killed

Date & Time: Jun 13, 1943 at 0220 LT
Type of aircraft:
Avro 683 Lancaster
Operator:
Registration:
ED816
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Bombing
Survivors:
Yes
Site:
Plain, Valley
Schedule:
Bourn - Bourn
Location:
Oudesluis
North Holland
Country:
Netherlands
Region:
Europe
Crew on board:
7
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
3
Circumstances:
The airplane departed RAF Bourn at 2304LT on June 12 on an operation to Bochum. Passing over the Netherlands, it was shot down by a German fighter and crashed near Oudesluis. Three crew members were killed and four others became PoW.
Crew:
F/Sgt John Thomas, pilot,
Sgt Charles James Hanrahan, flight engineer,
W/O Vre McIvor Robertson, navigator,
Sgt Ewan Bloomfield, bomb aimer,
Sgt William Edward Doyle, wireless operator, †
Sgt Leslie Thomas Beard, air gunner, †
Sgt Reginald Bromley, air gunner. †
Probable cause:
Shot down by a German fighter.

Crash of an Avro 683 Lancaster III at RAF Waterbeach: 1 killed

Date & Time: May 5, 1943
Type of aircraft:
Avro 683 Lancaster
Operator:
Registration:
ED880
Flight Phase:
Landing (descent or approach)
Flight Type:
Bombing
Survivors:
Yes
Site:
Airport (less than 10 km from airport)
Schedule:
Bourn - Bourn
Location:
Waterbeach AFB
Cambridgeshire
Country:
United Kingdom
Region:
Europe
Crew on board:
7
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
1
Circumstances:
The airplane departed RAF Bourn at 2216LT on April 4 on an operation to Dortmund. While returning to base the following night, the crew were ordered to divert to RAF Waterbeach. For unknown reasons, the airplane overshot the runway and collided with a parked Stirling registered BF393 (1651 CU). Both airplane were totally destroyed and among the crew of ED880, the pilot was killed, three others were injured and three escaped unarmed.
Crew:
Sgt Anthony Reilly, pilot, †
Sgt R. Gibson,
Sgt N. McFarlane,
F/O R. J. Hopps,
Sgt R. Horne,
Sgt R. L. Griffiths,
Sgt F. Fisher, air gunner.

Crash of a Short S.29 Stirling III in Sainte-Geneviève: 7 killed

Date & Time: Apr 11, 1943 at 0416 LT
Type of aircraft:
Short S.29 Stirling
Operator:
Registration:
BF475
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Bombing
Survivors:
No
Site:
Plain, Valley
Schedule:
Bourn - Bourn
Location:
Sainte-Geneviève
Aisne
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 Bourn at 0019LT on an operation to Frankfurt. It was shot down by a German fighter and crashed in Sainte-Geneviève, killing the entire crew.
Crew:
Sgt Eric John Trezise, pilot,
Sgt Arthur Loudon, flight engineer,
Sgt Thomas James Letbe, navigator,
F/O Peter Skinner McCaughey, bomb aimer,
Sgt Jack Harrison, wireless operator,
Sgt Harry Wakefield, air gunner,
Sgt Frederick Ronald Burton, air gunner.
Probable cause:
Shot down by a German fighter.

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

Date & Time: Apr 8, 1943 at 2338 LT
Type of aircraft:
Short S.29 Stirling
Operator:
Registration:
EF359
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Bombing
Survivors:
No
Site:
Plain, Valley
Schedule:
Bourn - Bourn
Location:
Binsheim
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 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:
Short S.29 Stirling
Operator:
Registration:
BK667
Flight Phase:
Landing (descent or approach)
Flight Type:
Bombing
Survivors:
Yes
Site:
Airport (less than 10 km from airport)
Schedule:
Bourn - Bourn
Location:
Lyneham AFB
Wiltshire
Country:
United Kingdom
Region:
Europe
Crew on board:
8
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
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.
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