Date & Time:
Apr 17, 1943 at 0307 LT
Type of aircraft:
Handley Page H.P.57 Halifax II
Operator:
Registration:
HR659
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Bombing
Survivors:
Yes
Site:
Plain, Valley
Schedule:
Linton-on-Ouse - Linton-on-Ouse
Country:
Germany
Region:
Europe
Crew on board:
7
Crew fatalities:
2
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
0
Other fatalities:
0
Total fatalities:
2
Circumstances:
The airplane departed RAF Linton-on-Ouse at 2051LT on April 16 on an operation to Plzeň. Outbound at 12,000 feet, it was shot down by a German fighter and crashed in Trier. Two crew members were killed and five others became PoW.
Crew:
F/Lt Edward George Mortenson, pilot, †
Sgt John Alexander Bell, flight engineer,
P/O Raymond Claud Walter Dennis, navigator,
F/O Walter George Frank Fisher, bomb aimer,
Sgt Alfred Steven, wireless operator,
Sgt Lawton Cyril Minshaw, air gunner,
Sgt Donald Alfred Pitman, air gunner. †
Crew:
F/Lt Edward George Mortenson, pilot, †
Sgt John Alexander Bell, flight engineer,
P/O Raymond Claud Walter Dennis, navigator,
F/O Walter George Frank Fisher, bomb aimer,
Sgt Alfred Steven, wireless operator,
Sgt Lawton Cyril Minshaw, air gunner,
Sgt Donald Alfred Pitman, air gunner. †
Probable cause:
Shot down by a German fighter.
