Crash of an Avro 683 Lancaster I off Hippolytushoef: 7 killed
Date & Time:
Jun 26, 1943 at 0231 LT
Operator:
Registration:
W4256
Survivors:
No
Schedule:
Syerston - Syerston
Crew on board:
7
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
7
Circumstances:
The airplane departed RAF Syerston at 2300LT on June 25 on an operation to Gelsenkirchen. Passing over the Netherlands, it was shot down by a German fighter and crashed into the sea 2 km off Hippolytushoef, killing the entire crew.
Crew:
Sgt Stephen George White, pilot,
Sgt Eric Charles Crook, flight engineer,
F/O James Edgar Donald Craigie, navigator,
P/O Gerard William Board Enright, navigator,
Sgt John Frederick Bates, wireless operator,
Sgt Edwin Thomas Harding, air gunner,
F/Sgt Maxwell Birdwood Watt, air gunner.
Crew:
Sgt Stephen George White, pilot,
Sgt Eric Charles Crook, flight engineer,
F/O James Edgar Donald Craigie, navigator,
P/O Gerard William Board Enright, navigator,
Sgt John Frederick Bates, wireless operator,
Sgt Edwin Thomas Harding, air gunner,
F/Sgt Maxwell Birdwood Watt, air gunner.
Probable cause:
Shot down by a German fighter.
