Country
United Kingdom

Crash of an Avro 683 Lancaster I into the North Sea: 7 killed

Date & Time: Apr 19, 1943
Type of aircraft:
Avro 683 Lancaster
Operator:
Registration:
W4849
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Bombing
Survivors:
No
Site:
Lake, Sea, Ocean, River
Schedule:
Warboys - Warboys
Location:
North Sea
World
Country:
World
Region:
World
Crew on board:
7
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
7
Circumstances:
The airplane departed RAF Warboys at 2121LT on April 17 on an operation to La Spezia. It failed to return to base and is believed to have crashed somewhere into the North Sea, probably off the French coast. Lost without trace.
Crew:
Sgt Godfrey Storian Cooper, pilot,
Sgt Ronald Harrison, flight engineer,
Sgt Kenneth Coulson,
Sgt David Roy Edwards,
F/Sgt Neil Owen Robinson,
Sgt James Jardine Vaulkhard,
Sgt Alban Kenneth Eley, air gunner.

Crash of an Avro 683 Lancaster III in Amiens: 6 killed

Date & Time: Apr 17, 1943 at 0456 LT
Type of aircraft:
Avro 683 Lancaster
Operator:
Registration:
ED441
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Bombing
Survivors:
Yes
Site:
Plain, Valley
Schedule:
Fiskerton - Fiskerton
Location:
Amiens
Somme
Country:
France
Region:
Europe
Crew on board:
7
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
6
Circumstances:
The airplane departed RAF Fiskerton at 2111LT on April 16 on an operation to Plzeň. The following morning, while returning to base, it was shot down by the German Flak and crashed in Amiens. Six crew members were killed and the air gunner became PoW.
Crew:
Sgt David Trevor Penry, pilot, †
Sgt Charles Glendinning Bamford, flight engineer, †
F/Sgt Alan Norris Dixon, navigator, †
Sgt Charles Lawrence James, bomb aimer, †
Sgt Thomas Charles Robertson, wireless operator, †
Sgt James Frederick Fletcher, air gunner, †
Sgt H. W. G. Kerr, air gunner.
Probable cause:
Shot down by the German Flak.

Crash of an Avro 683 Lancaster I in Pontavert: 1 killed

Date & Time: Apr 17, 1943 at 0445 LT
Type of aircraft:
Avro 683 Lancaster
Operator:
Registration:
R5484
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Bombing
Survivors:
Yes
Site:
Plain, Valley
Schedule:
Wyton - Wyton
Location:
Pontavert
Aisne
Country:
France
Region:
Europe
Crew on board:
7
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
1
Circumstances:
The airplane departed RAF Wyton at 2117LT on April 16 on an operation to Plzeň. It was shot down by a German fighter and crashed in Pontavert. The pilot was killed and six other crew members became PoW.
Crew:
F/O Glen Alexander McNichol, pilot, †
W/O George Christopher Mott, flight engineer,
F/O Henry Harold Beaupre, navigator,
F/O Thomas William Lewis, bomb aimer,
F/Sgt George Stanley MacFarlane, wireless operator,
Sgt Henry Richard Willis, air gunner,
F/Sgt Charles Erskine Hobbs, air gunner.
Probable cause:
Shot down by a German fighter

Crash of an Avro 683 Lancaster III in Yves-Gomezée: 7 killed

Date & Time: Apr 17, 1943 at 0423 LT
Type of aircraft:
Avro 683 Lancaster
Operator:
Registration:
ED800
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Bombing
Survivors:
No
Site:
Plain, Valley
Schedule:
Skellingthorpe - Skellingthorpe
Location:
Yves-Gomezée
Namur
Country:
Belgium
Region:
Europe
Crew on board:
7
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
7
Circumstances:
The airplane departed RAF Skellingthorpe at 2142LT on April 16 on an operation to Plzeň. While returning to base the following morning, it was shot down by a German fighter and crashed in Yves-Gomezée, 19 km south of Charleroi. All seven crew members were killed.
Crew:
Sgt John Gilchrist Duncan, pilot,
Sgt James Speirs, flight engineer,
Sgt John Alec Bates,
Sgt Albert Warren Berry,
Sgt Cyril Payne,
Sgt David Mackenzie Smellie,
Sgt Herbert Rhys Barnes, air gunner.
Probable cause:
Shot down by a German fighter.

Crash of an Avro 683 Lancaster I in Quévy: 8 killed

Date & Time: Apr 17, 1943 at 0402 LT
Type of aircraft:
Avro 683 Lancaster
Operator:
Registration:
W4317
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Bombing
Survivors:
No
Site:
Plain, Valley
Schedule:
Syerst
Location:
Quévy
Hainaut
Country:
Belgium
Region:
Europe
Crew on board:
8
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
8
Circumstances:
The airplane departed RAF Syerston at 2113LT on April 16 on an operation to Plzeň. It was shot down by a German fighter and crashed in Quévy, 10 km southeast of Mons. All eight crew members were killed.
Crew:
P/O William MacFarlane, pilot,
Sgt Peter John Keay, pilot,
F/Sgt William Waller Dawson, observer,
F/O Cyril Frederick Williams, navigator,
Sgt Edward Reginald Davidson, navigator,
P/O John Frederick Edwards, wireless operator,
Sgt Jack Valentine Rees, air gunner,
P/O Donald Alfred Holdsworth, air gunner.
Probable cause:
Shot down by a German fighter.

Crash of an Avro 683 Lancaster III into the North Sea: 3 killed

Date & Time: Apr 17, 1943 at 0400 LT
Type of aircraft:
Avro 683 Lancaster
Operator:
Registration:
ED784
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Bombing
Survivors:
Yes
Site:
Lake, Sea, Ocean, River
Schedule:
Skellingthorpe - Skellingthorpe
Location:
North Sea
World
Country:
World
Region:
World
Crew on board:
8
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
3
Circumstances:
The airplane departed RAF Skellingthorpe at 2143LT on April 16 on an operation to Plzeň. Over Saarbrücken, it was badly shot about by two German fighters. The crew decided to return to base and later, the bomber was shot down by the German Flak and was ditched at 0400LT into the sea off the French coast. Three crew members were killed and five others were rescued.
Crew:
F/O Henry Elderfield, pilot, †
P/O Patrick Claud Cotter, †
Sgt Harold Hinchcliffe, †
Sgt R. Chambers,
Sgt J. M. Laing,
Sgt R. S. Harman,
Sgt J. Hammond, air gunner,
Sgt H. Webster, air gunner.
Probable cause:
Shot down by enemy fire.

Crash of an Avro 683 Lancaster I in Oggersheim: 7 killed

Date & Time: Apr 17, 1943 at 0317 LT
Type of aircraft:
Avro 683 Lancaster
Operator:
Registration:
W4331
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Bombing
Survivors:
No
Site:
Plain, Valley
Schedule:
Breighton - Breighton
Location:
Oggersheim
Rhineland-Palatinate
Country:
Germany
Region:
Europe
Crew on board:
7
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
7
Circumstances:
The airplane departed RAF Breighton at 2106LT on April 16 on an operation to Plzeň. It was shot down by the German Flak and crashed in Oggersheim. All seven crew members were killed.
Crew:
F/Sgt Ian Gordon Miller, pilot,
Sgt Duncan Curtis, flight engineer,
Sgt Maurice George Wilfred Capon, navigator,
Sgt Norman Percy Richmond, observer,
Sgt George Joseph Wilson, wireless operator,
Sgt Ronald Francis Beaumont, air gunner,
Sgt Ronald Alfred Hall, air gunner.
Probable cause:
Shot down by the German Flak.

Crash of an Avro 683 Lancaster III in Laumersheim: 7 killed

Date & Time: Apr 17, 1943 at 0237 LT
Type of aircraft:
Avro 683 Lancaster
Operator:
Registration:
ED427
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Bombing
Survivors:
No
Site:
Plain, Valley
Schedule:
Fiskerton - Fiskerton
Location:
Laumersheim
Rhineland-Palatinate
Country:
Germany
Region:
Europe
Crew on board:
7
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
7
Circumstances:
The airplane departed RAF Fiskerton at 2114LT on April 16 on an operation to Plzeň. Approaching Mannheim, it was shot down by the German Flak and crashed in Laumersheim, killing the entire crew.
Crew:
F/O Alexander Victor Bone, pilot,
Sgt Raymond Norman Percy Foster, flight engineer,
Sgt Cyril William Yelland, navigator,
Sgt Raymond Joseph Rooney, bomb aimer,
Sgt Raymond Charles White, wireless operator,
Sgt Ronald Cope, air gunner,
P/O Bruce Emmott Watt, air gunner.
Probable cause:
Shot down by the German Flak.

Crash of an Avro 683 Lancaster I in Dobřany: 7 killed

Date & Time: Apr 17, 1943 at 0210 LT
Type of aircraft:
Avro 683 Lancaster
Operator:
Registration:
R5622
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Bombing
Survivors:
No
Site:
Plain, Valley
Schedule:
Wyton - Wyton
Location:
Dobřany
Plzeň Region (Plzeňský kraj)
Country:
Czech Republic
Region:
Europe
Crew on board:
7
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
7
Circumstances:
The airplane departed RAF Wyton at 2129LT on April 16 on an operation to Plzeň. It was shot down by the German Flak and crashed in Dobřany, 10 km southwest of Plzeň. All seven crew members were killed.
Crew:
P/O Frank Cyril Milton, pilot,
F/Sgt Roy Beaven, flight engineer,
F/O Norman Milton McLellan, navigator,
F/Lt Walter Basil Wells, navigator,
Sgt Alex Podolsky, wireless operator,
F/Sgt Jack Rodgers, air gunner,
Sgt Maurice Kleinhorn, air gunner.
Probable cause:
Shot down by the German Flak.

Crash of an Avro 683 Lancaster I in Nuremberg: 6 killed

Date & Time: Apr 17, 1943 at 0128 LT
Type of aircraft:
Avro 683 Lancaster
Operator:
Registration:
ED379
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Bombing
Survivors:
Yes
Site:
Plain, Valley
Schedule:
Holme-on-Spalding-Moor - Holme-on-Spalding-Moor
Location:
Nuremberg
Bavaria
Country:
Germany
Region:
Europe
Crew on board:
7
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
6
Circumstances:
The airplane departed RAF Holme-on-Spalding-Moor at 2121LT on April 16 on an operation to Plzeň. It was shot down by the German Flak and crashed in Dutzendteich, in the southeast suburb of Nuremberg. Six crew members were killed and the wireless operator became PoW.
Crew:
F/Sgt Colin Kerr Menzies, pilot, †
Sgt Harold Albert Upton, flight engineer, †
Sgt Henry Evans, navigator, †
F/O Thomas Maxwell Taylor, bomb aimer, †
Sgt Lionel Green, wireless operator,
F/Sgt James Henry Fitch, air gunner, †
Sgt Jack Monks, air gunner. †
Probable cause:
Shot down by the German Flak.
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