Date & Time:
Jan 9, 1943 at 1822 LT
Type of aircraft:
Handley Page H.P.57 Halifax II
Operator:
Registration:
BB252
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Bombing
Survivors:
No
Site:
Plain, Valley
Schedule:
Melbourne - Melbourne
Country:
Netherlands
Region:
Europe
Crew on board:
7
Crew fatalities:
7
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
0
Other fatalities:
0
Total fatalities:
7
Circumstances:
The airplane departed RAF Melbourne at 1617LT on a mine laying operation in the Nectarines area. Approaching the Frisian Islands at an altitude of about 1,100 metres, it was shot down by a German fighter and crashed on the island. All seven crew members were killed.
Crew:
Sgt Eddie Fish, pilot,
Sgt Alan Smith, flight engineer,
F/Sgt John Wilmer Smith, observer,
F/Sgt Charles Brian Fetherstonhaugh, navigator,
F/Sgt Arthur William Wilson, wireless operator,
Sgt Michael John Boyle, air gunner,
F/Sgt Lawrence Clifford King, air gunner.
Crew:
Sgt Eddie Fish, pilot,
Sgt Alan Smith, flight engineer,
F/Sgt John Wilmer Smith, observer,
F/Sgt Charles Brian Fetherstonhaugh, navigator,
F/Sgt Arthur William Wilson, wireless operator,
Sgt Michael John Boyle, air gunner,
F/Sgt Lawrence Clifford King, air gunner.
Probable cause:
Shot down by a German fighter.
