Zone
Norfolk

Crash of a Short S.29 Stirling III in Ambérieu-en-Bugey: 5 killed

Date & Time: Aug 17, 1943
Type of aircraft:
Short S.29 Stirling
Operator:
Registration:
EH884
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Bombing
Survivors:
Yes
Site:
Plain, Valley
Schedule:
Downham Market - Downham Market
Location:
Ambérieu-en-Bugey
Ain
Country:
France
Region:
Europe
Crew on board:
7
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
5
Circumstances:
The aircraft left RAF Downham Market at 2019LT on August 16 on a bombing mission to Torino, Italy. While flying over the east part of France at an altitude of 14,000 feet, the aircraft was shot down by the pilot of a German fighter and crashed in a field in Saint German en Bugey. A crew member was taken PoW, another evaded while five others were killed.
Crew (218th Squadron):
W/O S. F. Chudzik, †
Sgt D. Deans, †
Sgt C. E. Taylor, †
Sgt D. P. J. Rawlings, †
Sgt J. D. Bates, †
Sgt J. L. Paterson,
Sgt W. L. McKinnon.
Probable cause:
Shot down by a German fighter.

Crash of a Short S.29 Stirling III in Empe

Date & Time: Jun 26, 1943 at 0126 LT
Type of aircraft:
Short S.29 Stirling
Operator:
Registration:
EF430
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Bombing
Survivors:
Yes
Site:
Plain, Valley
Schedule:
Downham Market - Downham Market
Location:
Empe
Gelderland
Country:
Netherlands
Region:
Europe
Crew on board:
7
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
The airplane departed RAF Downham Market at 2350LT on June 25 on an operation to Gelsenkirchen. Passing over the Netherlands, it was shot down by a German fighter and crashed in Empe. All seven crew members became Pow.
Crew:
S/L D. M. Maw, pilot,
F/Sgt D. Holden, flight engineer,
F/Sgt R. Baker, navigator,
F/Sgt J. S. Foster, bomb aimer,
Sgt K. W. Durnell, wireless operator,
F/Sgt S. C. Cummins, air gunner,
F/Sgt W. I. Thomas, air gunner.
Probable cause:
Shot down by a German fighter.

Crash of a Short S.29 Stirling III near Zieuwent: 6 killed

Date & Time: Jun 26, 1943 at 0117 LT
Type of aircraft:
Short S.29 Stirling
Operator:
Registration:
EH898
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Bombing
Survivors:
Yes
Site:
Plain, Valley
Schedule:
Downham Market - Downham Market
Location:
Zieuwent
Gelderland
Country:
Netherlands
Region:
Europe
Crew on board:
7
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
6
Circumstances:
The airplane departed RAF Downham Market at 2345LT on June 25 on an operation to Gelsenkirchen. Passing over the Netherlands, it was shot down by a German fighter and crashed near Zieuwent. Six crew members were killed and one became PoW.
Crew:
P/O Eric Charles Hughes, pilot, †
Sgt D. O'Sullivan, flight engineer, †
P/O Alistair Ernest Boulton, navigator,
Sgt G. R. Jacques, bomb aimer, †
Sgt Bernard A. W. Jennings, wireless operator, †
Sgt Henry Samuel Pagett, air gunner, †
Sgt E. Towe, air gunner. †
Probable cause:
Shot down by a German fighter.

Crash of a Short S.29 Stirling III in Kaggevinne: 8 killed

Date & Time: Jun 25, 1943 at 0159 LT
Type of aircraft:
Short S.29 Stirling
Operator:
Registration:
BF501
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Bombing
Survivors:
No
Site:
Plain, Valley
Schedule:
Downham Market - Downham Market
Location:
Kaggevinne
Flemish Brabant
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 Downham Market at 2343LT on June 24 on an operation to Wuppertal. Passing over Belgium, it was shot down by a German fighter and crashed in Kaggevinne, killing the entire crew.
Crew:
W/O James William Douglas Hoey, pilot,
Sgt Peter Edward Collingwood, copilot,
Sgt James Thomson, flight engineer,
F/Sgt Leo De Botte, navigator,
Sgt Raymond Lynn Edgoose, bomb aimer,
Sgt Arthur William Erne, wireless operator,
Sgt Thomas Evan Lloyd, air gunner,
F/Sgt Ralph Frederick Garrod, air gunner.
Probable cause:
Shot down by a German fighter.

Crash of a Short S.29 Stirling III in Kalenborn: 4 killed

Date & Time: Jun 25, 1943 at 0150 LT
Type of aircraft:
Short S.29 Stirling
Operator:
Registration:
EH892
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Bombing
Survivors:
Yes
Site:
Plain, Valley
Schedule:
Downham Market - Downham Market
Location:
Kalenborn
Rhineland-Palatinate
Country:
Germany
Region:
Europe
Crew on board:
7
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
4
Circumstances:
The airplane departed RAF Downham Market at 2344LT on June 24 on an operation to Wuppertal. Flying south of Bonn, it was shot down by a German fighter and crashed in Kalenborn. Four crew members were killed and three others became PoW.
Crew:
S/L Anthony Beck, pilot, †
F/O Raymond James Johnson, copilot, †
P/O Harold Brisco Barrett, navigator, †
F/Sgt Stanley George Garbett, navigator,
P/O Ronald Vivian Phelps-Hopkins, bomb aimer, †
Sgt Edward Quigley, air gunner,
F/O Robert Hesketh Nuttall, air gunner.
Probable cause:
Shot down by a German fighter.

Crash of a Short S.29 Stirling III off The Hague: 6 killed

Date & Time: Jun 23, 1943 at 0209 LT
Type of aircraft:
Short S.29 Stirling
Operator:
Registration:
BF572
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Bombing
Survivors:
Yes
Site:
Lake, Sea, Ocean, River
Schedule:
Downham Market - Downham Market
Location:
The Hague
South Holland
Country:
Netherlands
Region:
Europe
Crew on board:
7
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
6
Circumstances:
The airplane departed RAF Downham Market at 0009LT on an operation to Mülheim. It was shot down by a German fighter and crashed into the North Sea 25 km west of The Hague. Six crew members were killed and an air gunner became PoW.
Crew:
F/Sgt James Brooks Hamilton Smith, pilot, †
Sgt Gilbert Ernest Rose, flight engineer, †
Sgt Reginald Harrison Cramm, navigator, †
Sgt Wyndham Henry Davies, bomb aimer, †
Sgt Cederic Roland Minns, wireless operator, †
F/Sgt George Labiuk, air gunner, †
F/Sgt P. W. Farr, air gunner.
Probable cause:
Shot down by a German fighter.

Crash of a Short S.29 Stirling III in Sterksel: 3 killed

Date & Time: Jun 22, 1943 at 0150 LT
Type of aircraft:
Short S.29 Stirling
Operator:
Registration:
BK722
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Bombing
Survivors:
Yes
Site:
Plain, Valley
Schedule:
Downham Market - Downham Market
Location:
Sterksel
North Brabant
Country:
Netherlands
Region:
Europe
Crew on board:
7
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
3
Circumstances:
The airplane departed RAF Downham Market at 0016LT on an operation to Krefeld. Passing over the Netherlands, it was shot down by a German fighter and crashed in Sterksel. Three crew members were killed and four others became PoW.
Crew:
P/O Donald Robert Rich, pilot, †
Sgt Herbert Hill, flight engineer,
Sgt Fred Fawcett, navigator,
Sgt Brian Kermonde, bomb aimer, †
Sgt Anthony James Small, wireless operator,
Sgt Stanley Herbert Burrows, air gunner, †
Sgt John Swan McDonald, air gunner.
Probable cause:
Shot down by a German fighter.

Crash of a Short S.29 Stirling III in Aarschot: 8 killed

Date & Time: Jun 22, 1943 at 0133 LT
Type of aircraft:
Short S.29 Stirling
Operator:
Registration:
BK712
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Bombing
Survivors:
No
Site:
Plain, Valley
Schedule:
Downham Market - Downham Market
Location:
Aarschot
Flemish Brabant
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 Downham Market at 0014LT on an operation to Krefeld. Passing over Belgium, it was shot down by a German fighter and crashed in Aarschot, killing the entire crew.
Crew:
P/O William Golder Shillinglaw, pilot,
F/O A. R. Helvard, copilot,
Sgt Raymond Percy Goward, flight engineer,
Sgt Patrick Desmond McArdle, navigator,
F/Sgt Douglas Joseph Ashby-Peckham, wireless operator,
Sgt Thomas Reginald Lunn, bomb aimer,
Sgt Arthur Edwin Gurney, air gunner,
Sgt Edgar Desmond Hart, air gunner.
Probable cause:
Shot down by a German fighter.

Crash of a Short S.29 Stirling I near RAF Downham Market

Date & Time: May 31, 1943 at 1610 LT
Type of aircraft:
Short S.29 Stirling
Operator:
Registration:
EF365
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Test
Survivors:
Yes
Site:
Airport (less than 10 km from airport)
Schedule:
Downha
Location:
Downham Market AFB
Norfolk
Country:
United Kingdom
Region:
Europe
Crew on board:
7
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
While engaged in a local test flight out from RAF Downham Market, the airplane suffered an engine failure and crashed near the airbase. All seven crew members escaped unhurt.
Crew:
P/O D. R. Rich, pilot,
Sgt H. Hill,
Sgt F. Fawcett,
Sgt B. Kermonde,
Sgt A. J. Hall,
Sgt J. S. McDonald,
Sgt S. H. Burrows.
Probable cause:
Engine failure in flight.

Crash of a Short S.29 Stirling III in Schaffen: 7 killed

Date & Time: May 30, 1943 at 0222 LT
Type of aircraft:
Short S.29 Stirling
Operator:
Registration:
BK688
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Bombing
Survivors:
No
Site:
Plain, Valley
Schedule:
Downham Market - Downham Market
Location:
Schaffen
Flemish Brabant
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 Downham Market at 2308LT on May 29 on an operation to Wuppertal. It was shot down by a German fighter and crashed in Schaffen, killing all seven crew members.
Crew:
F/Sgt William Arthur Mathias Davis, pilot,
Sgt George Alan Ashley Grant, flight engineer,
Sgt Thomas Wilkinson Dixon, navigator,
Sgt William Robert Howes, bomb aimer,
Sgt Thomas Lloyd Portrey, wireless operator,
Sgt James Alfred Bramble, air gunner,
F/Lt Leslie William Abbiss, air gunner.
Probable cause:
Shot down by a German fighter.
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