Date & Time:
Oct 30, 1942
Type of aircraft:
Handley Page H.P.57 Halifax II
Operator:
Registration:
W7773
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Military
Survivors:
No
Site:
Mountains
Schedule:
Tempsford - Tempsford
Country:
Norway
Region:
Europe
Crew on board:
7
Crew fatalities:
7
Pax on board:
3
Pax fatalities:
3
Other fatalities:
0
Total fatalities:
10
Circumstances:
The airplane departed RAF Tempsford at 1700LT on October 29 on a Special Operation Executive (Operation Wrench) consisting of dropping Polish agents, supply weapons, ammunition, explosives and large sums of money to the resistance in Poland. Over Poland, the crew was unable to locate the drop zone located in the region of Opole, and the captain decided to return to England. After a flight of 10 hours, while overflying south of Norway, the bomber was shot down by a German fighter and crashed in a mountainous area located near Refsland. All 10 occupants were killed.
Crew:
F/Sgt Franciszek Sobkowiak, pilot,
W/O Franciszek Zaremba, pilot,
F/O Mariusz Wodzicki, observer,
F/O Franciszek Pantkowski, radio operator,
Sgt Czesław Kozłowski, flight engineer,
F/Sgt Tadeusz Madejski, dropper,
F/Sgt Wacław Żuk, air gunner.
Passengers:
Lt Wiesław Szpakowicz,
Lt Stanisław Hencel,
2nd Lt Jerzy Bichniewicz.
Crew:
F/Sgt Franciszek Sobkowiak, pilot,
W/O Franciszek Zaremba, pilot,
F/O Mariusz Wodzicki, observer,
F/O Franciszek Pantkowski, radio operator,
Sgt Czesław Kozłowski, flight engineer,
F/Sgt Tadeusz Madejski, dropper,
F/Sgt Wacław Żuk, air gunner.
Passengers:
Lt Wiesław Szpakowicz,
Lt Stanisław Hencel,
2nd Lt Jerzy Bichniewicz.
Probable cause:
Shot down by a German fighter.
