Date & Time:
Jul 14, 1943
Type of aircraft:
Handley Page H.P.57 Halifax II
Operator:
Registration:
W7758
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Bombing
Survivors:
Yes
Site:
Lake, Sea, Ocean, River
Country:
Italy
Region:
Europe
Crew on board:
6
Crew fatalities:
4
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
0
Other fatalities:
0
Total fatalities:
4
Circumstances:
The airplane was engaged in an operation against the railway station in Messina, Sicily. Cruising south of Sardinia Island, it was shot down by a German fighter and crashed into the Mediterranean Sea some 16 km off Cape Spartivento. Four crew members were killed and two others were rescued.
Crew (462 Sq):
W/Cdr Peter George Batty Warner, pilot, †
Sgt E. Loomes, flight engineer,
F/O Stanley James Elphick, observer, †
Sgt C. R. B. Ainley, bomb aimer,
Sgt Robert Davies Copley, air gunner, †
F/O Roy Edward Parsons, air gunner. †
Crew (462 Sq):
W/Cdr Peter George Batty Warner, pilot, †
Sgt E. Loomes, flight engineer,
F/O Stanley James Elphick, observer, †
Sgt C. R. B. Ainley, bomb aimer,
Sgt Robert Davies Copley, air gunner, †
F/O Roy Edward Parsons, air gunner. †
Probable cause:
Shot down by a German fighter.
