Date & Time:
May 9, 1942 at 0223 LT
Type of aircraft:
Avro 679 Manchester
Operator:
Registration:
L7489
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Bombing
Survivors:
Yes
Site:
Plain, Valley
Schedule:
Skellingthorpe - Skellingthorpe
Country:
Denmark
Region:
Europe
Crew on board:
7
Crew fatalities:
1
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
0
Other fatalities:
0
Total fatalities:
1
Circumstances:
The airplane departed RAF Skellingthorpe at 2146LT on 8 May on an operation to Warnemünde. Over the target area, the airplane was severely damaged by the German Flak. Nevertheless, the crew continued over Denmark but with the right engine on fire, the captain ordered his crew to bail out. Out of control, the airplane crashed in an open field located near Store Lind, on Møn Island. The pilot was killed and all six other crew became PoW.
Crew (50th Squadron):
Sgt Maurice Gruber, pilot, †
Sgt S. Garbutt,
P/O Harold Frederick Avery,
Sgt John Pearce,
Sgt Donald Broadhead,
Sgt Richard Solomon,
Sgt Kenneth George Richard Johnson.
Crew (50th Squadron):
Sgt Maurice Gruber, pilot, †
Sgt S. Garbutt,
P/O Harold Frederick Avery,
Sgt John Pearce,
Sgt Donald Broadhead,
Sgt Richard Solomon,
Sgt Kenneth George Richard Johnson.
Probable cause:
Shot down by the German Flak.
