Date & Time:
Apr 15, 1943 at 0304 LT
Type of aircraft:
Handley Page H.P.57 Halifax II
Operator:
Registration:
DT746
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Bombing
Survivors:
Yes
Site:
Plain, Valley
Schedule:
Melbourne - Melbourne
Country:
France
Region:
Europe
Crew on board:
7
Crew fatalities:
6
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
0
Other fatalities:
0
Total fatalities:
6
Circumstances:
The airplane departed RAF Melbourne at 2127LT 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 Saint-Hilaire-le-Petit. Six crew members were killed and the flight engineer became PoW.
Crew:
F/Sgt James Eric George Hancock, pilot, †
Sgt Jack Lionel Lee, flight engineer,
Sgt Hugh George Owen, navigator, †
Sgt David Bertram Everitt, bomb aimer, †
Sgt Donald Ernest Funnell, wireless operator, †
Sgt Fred William Griggs, air gunner, †
Sgt John David Culleton, air gunner. †
Crew:
F/Sgt James Eric George Hancock, pilot, †
Sgt Jack Lionel Lee, flight engineer,
Sgt Hugh George Owen, navigator, †
Sgt David Bertram Everitt, bomb aimer, †
Sgt Donald Ernest Funnell, wireless operator, †
Sgt Fred William Griggs, air gunner, †
Sgt John David Culleton, air gunner. †
Probable cause:
Shot down by a German fighter.
