Date & Time:
Jul 13, 1943
Type of aircraft:
Avro 683 Lancaster
Operator:
Registration:
LM328
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Bombing
Survivors:
Yes
Site:
Lake, Sea, Ocean, River
Schedule:
Wickenby - Wickenby
Country:
World
Region:
World
Crew on board:
7
Crew fatalities:
4
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
0
Other fatalities:
0
Total fatalities:
4
Circumstances:
The airplane departed RAF Wickenby at 2235LT on July 12 on an operation to Torino. It was shot down by a German fighter and crashed into the Bay of Biscay off the French coast. Four crew members were killed and three others were rescued and became PoW.
Crew:
P/O Thomas Benzie Forbes, pilot, †
Sgt Alfred Hales, flight engineer, †
Sgt L. R. Matthews, navigator,
Sgt William Frank Thomas, bomb aimer, †
Sgt Lawrence Douglas Mitchell, wireless operator,
Sgt Ernest Southon, air gunner,
Sgt George Leonard Albert Deasley, air gunner. †
Crew:
P/O Thomas Benzie Forbes, pilot, †
Sgt Alfred Hales, flight engineer, †
Sgt L. R. Matthews, navigator,
Sgt William Frank Thomas, bomb aimer, †
Sgt Lawrence Douglas Mitchell, wireless operator,
Sgt Ernest Southon, air gunner,
Sgt George Leonard Albert Deasley, air gunner. †
Probable cause:
Shot down by a German fighter.
