Newmarket AFB

Operator:

Registration:

BF506

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Schedule:

Newmarket - Newmarket

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The airplane departed RAF Newmarket at 2205LT on April 20 on an operation to Rostock. While returning to base the following night and passing over Denmark, it was shot down by a combination of German Flak and German fighter and crashed in Bøgballe. All seven crew members were killed.
Crew:
P/O Alan Gray Tolley, pilot,
Sgt Gerald Albert Raymond Town, flight engineer,
F/Sgt William Henry Ellis, observer,
F/Sgt Frank Wakefield Upton, bomb aimer,
F/Sgt Cyril Thomas Cobb, wireless operator,
Sgt Frederick Joseph Earle, air gunner,
F/Sgt Ian Charles Salt, air gunner.

Probable cause:

Shot down by a combination of German Flak and German fighter.

Crash of a Short S.29 Stirling I in Chigny-les-Roses: 8 killed

Date & Time: Apr 17, 1943 at 0348 LT

Type of aircraft:

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Registration:

BF451

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Newmarket - Newmarket

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The airplane departed RAF Newmarket at 2214LT on April 16 on an operation to Mannheim. It was shot down by a German fighter and crashed in Chigny-les-Roses. All eight crew members were killed.
Crew:
W/O James Oscar Way, pilot,
P/O Kelvin Havelock Green Groves, pilot,
Sgt Leslie Charles Cameron, flight engineer,
Sgt Tom Graham Shergold, navigator,
Sgt Richard Fleury Wanstall, bomb aimer,
Sgt Rodney Leslie Pierson, wireless operator,
Sgt Leslie Leonard Everden, air gunner,
Sgt Ronald Charles Stone, air gunner.

Probable cause:

Shot down by a German fighter.

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

Date & Time: Apr 17, 1943 at 0115 LT

Type of aircraft:

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Registration:

W7469

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Newmarket - Newmarket

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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.

Crash of a Short S.29 Stirling III at RAF Newmarket

Date & Time: Apr 17, 1943

Type of aircraft:

Landing (descent or approach)

Operator:

Registration:

BK664

Flight Phase:

Flight Type:

Airport (less than 10 km from airport)

Survivors:

Yes

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Schedule:

Newmarket - Newmarket

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The airplane departed RAF Newmarket at 2200LT on April 16 on an operation to Mannheim. It was hit by the German Flak over the target and on return to base, the pilot discovered he was not able to control the throttles. This resulted in the Stirling colliding with a partially built hangar and being damaged beyond repair. All eight crew members escaped unhurt.
Crew:
F/Lt D. C. Lowe, pilot,
Sgt C. Logan,
Sgt A. G. Warr,
Sgt F. Carswell,
F/Sgt S. Ellis,
Sgt A. J. Bodley,
Sgt K. Wilmer,
Sgt B. Welch, air gunner.

Probable cause:

Uncontrollable throttles.

Crash of a Short S.29 Stirling III in Regnièssart: 7 killed

Date & Time: Apr 15, 1943 at 0223 LT

Type of aircraft:

Operator:

Registration:

BF513

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Newmarket - Newmarket

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The airplane departed RAF Newmarket at 2132LT on April 14 on an operation to Stuttgart. While returning to base the following night, it was shot down by a German fighter and crashed in Regnièssart. All seven crew members were killed.
Crew:
P/O Donald Gordon McCaskill, pilot,
Sgt Angus McVicar, flight engineer,
P/O James Kennedy Grainger, navigator,
Sgt Bertram Elwell, bomb aimer,
Sgt Reginald Thomas Charles Green, wireless operator,
Sgt Ernest Desmond Cook, air gunner,
Sgt Ronald Alexander Smith, air gunner.

Probable cause:

shot down by a German fighter.

Crash of a Short S.29 Stirling III in Steeg: 7 killed

Date & Time: Apr 11, 1943 at 0235 LT

Type of aircraft:

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Registration:

BF456

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Newmarket - Newmarket

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The airplane departed RAF Newmarket at 0006LT on an operation to Frankfurt. Approaching Wiesbaden, it was shot down by a German fighter and crashed in Steeg, 67 km west of Frankfurt. All seven crew members were killed.
Crew:
Sgt John Webb, pilot,
Sgt James Robertson Inglis, flight engineer,
Sgt Daniel Thomas Anthony, navigator,
Sgt Daniel Vernon Jones, navigator,
Sgt Richard William Lowther, wireless operator,
Sgt Leonard Roy Cunningham, air gunner,
Sgt Edward John Letherbarrow, air gunner.

Probable cause:

Shot down by a German fighter.

Crash of a Short S.29 Stirling III off Shoreham-by-Sea

Date & Time: Apr 11, 1943

Type of aircraft:

Operator:

Registration:

BF455

Flight Phase:

Flight Type:

Survivors:

Yes

Site:

Lake, Sea, Ocean, River

Schedule:

Newmarket - Newmarket

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The airplane departed RAF Newmarket at 2355LT on April 10 on an operation to Frankfurt. Over the target area, it was damaged by the German Flak and later engaged in a running battle with night-fighters. Low on fuel, the bomber was ditched in the Channel some 5 km off Shoreham-by-Sea. The airplane sank after 25 minutes and all eight crew members were rescued by a Walrus.
Crew:
F/Sgt Charles Arnold Rothschild, pilot,
Sgt Eric Grainger, flight engineer,
Sgt George King Samson, navigator,
Sgt James Leonard Richards, bomb aimer,
Sgt Robert Ernest Tod, wireless operator,
Sgt D. H. Moss, air gunner,
Sgt William Alfred Maxwell Hardy, air gunner,
Sgt Richard Douglas Tod, air gunner.

Crash of a Short S.29 Stirling III in Bressingham: 7 killed

Date & Time: Apr 9, 1943

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Registration:

BK770

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Newmarket - Newmarket

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The airplane departed RAF Newmarket at 2130LT on April 8 on an operation to Duisburg. While returning to base the following night, it crashed in unknown circumstances at Valley Farm, Bressingham. All seven crew members were killed.
Crew:
W/O John Arthur Ernest Walsh, pilot,
Sgt Jack Herbert Worthington, flight engineer,
W/O Bertram Augustus Moffatt, navigator,
Sgt Francis Henry Reddicliffe, navigator,
Sgt John William Scudder, wireless operator,
Sgt Stanley Arthur Curtis, air gunner,
F/Sgt Phillip Gordon Stuart, air gunner.

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

Date & Time: Mar 8, 1943 at 2235 LT

Type of aircraft:

Operator:

Registration:

BF437

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