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

Date & Time: Apr 17, 1943 at 0115 LT
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
W7469
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Newmarket - Newmarket
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
7
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
6
Circumstances:
The airplane departed RAF Newmarket at 2217LT on April 16 on an operation to Mannheim. It was shot down by a German fighter and crashed in Katzenbach, 23 km north of Kaiserslautern. Six crew members were killed and the flight engineer became PoW.
Crew:
P/O Kevin Frederick Debenham, pilot, †
Sgt Donald Wainwright, flight engineer,
W/O Raymond James Barnes, navigator, †
Sgt David Michael Turner Watts, navigator, †
Sgt Peter Braithwaite Pearson, wireless operator, †
Sgt John Leslie Marlow, air gunner, †
Sgt Jim Jack Davis, air gunner. †
Probable cause:
Shot down by a German fighter.