Date & Time:
May 5, 1943 at 2350 LT
Type of aircraft:
Short S.29 Stirling
Operator:
Registration:
EF340
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Bombing
Survivors:
No
Site:
Lake, Sea, Ocean, River
Schedule:
Newmarket - Newmarket
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 Newmarket at 2153LT for mine laying duties in the Nectarines area off the Frisian Islands. Approaching the Dutch coast, it was shot down by a German fighter and crashed into the sea 20 km northwest of Terschelling. All seven crew members were killed.
Crew:
P/O Reginald Francis Westwood, pilot,
Sgt Frederick Horace Bennetton, flight engineer,
P/O Robert Henry Waldron Bentley, navigator,
Sgt Erwin Henry Reubin Lamb, bomb aimer,
Sgt William Harkness, wireless operator,
Sgt Gilbert Humphreys Rogers, air gunner,
Sgt John McLaren Boswell, air gunner.
Crew:
P/O Reginald Francis Westwood, pilot,
Sgt Frederick Horace Bennetton, flight engineer,
P/O Robert Henry Waldron Bentley, navigator,
Sgt Erwin Henry Reubin Lamb, bomb aimer,
Sgt William Harkness, wireless operator,
Sgt Gilbert Humphreys Rogers, air gunner,
Sgt John McLaren Boswell, air gunner.
Probable cause:
Shot down by a German fighter.
