Bakel | Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archives

The airplane departed RAF Elsham Wolds at 2316LT on June 8 on an operation to Essen. While returning to base the following night, it was shot down by a German fighter and crashed in Bakel, killing the entire crew.
Crew:
P/O John Evans Firman, pilot,
F/Sgt John MacQueen, observer,
Sgt Frederick William Ewart Ball, wireless operator,
F/Sgt Jean Albert Marc Turner, air gunner,
Sgt Henry Halliwell, air gunner.

Probable cause:

Shot down by a German fighter.

Crash of an Avro 679 Manchester I in Bakel: 1 killed

Date & Time: Mar 28, 1941 at 2330 LT

Type of aircraft:

Avro 679 Manchester

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Registration:

L7303

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Schedule:

Waddington - Waddington

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The airplane departed RAF Waddington on an operation to Düsseldorf. While flying over the Netherlands, it was coned by searchlight and shot down by the pilot of a German fighter. The crew abandoned the airplane that dove into the ground and crashed near Bakel. A crew was killed as his parachute failed to open before impact. Five other occupants became PoW.
Crew (207th Squadron):
F/L John Aloysius Siebert, pilot, †
Sgt P. C. Robson, pilot,
Sgt George Thomas John Fomison, observer,
Sgt James Arthur Taylor, wireless operator,
F/Sgt William John Jewell McDougall, bomb aimer,
Sgt Peter Gurnell, air gunner.

Probable cause:

Shot down by a German fighter.