Date & Time: May 24, 1943 at 0236 LT
Type of aircraft:
Handley Page H.P.57 Halifax II
Operator:
Registration:
DT789
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Bombing
Survivors:
No
Site:
Lake, Sea, Ocean, River
Schedule:
Melbourne - Melbourne
Location:
Texel Island
North Holland
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 2234LT on May 23 on an operation to Dortmund. Passing along the Dutch coast, it was shot down by a German fighter and crashed into the North Sea some 40 km northwest of Texel Island, killing the entire crew.
Crew:
Sgt John Rees, pilot,
Sgt Denis Birkhead,
Sgt Evan George David,
Sgt Frederick Charles Rose,
Sgt Samuel James Gaywood,
Sgt William Edgar Oliver,
Sgt Frank William Farnell, air gunner.
Probable cause:
Shot down by a German fighter.