Crash of an Avro 683 Lancaster I off Hooksiel: 6 killed
Date & Time:
Feb 18, 1943 at 2046 LT
Operator:
Registration:
ED330
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Langar - Langar
Crew on board:
7
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
6
Circumstances:
The airplane departed RAF Langar at 1828LT on an operation to Wilhelmshaven. Approaching the target area from the north, it was shot down by the German Flak and crashed into the sea some 2,5 km northeast of Hooksiel, some 13 km north of Wilhelmshaven. Six crew members were killed and one became PoW.
Crew:
Sgt Norman Clive Beer, pilot, †
Sgt Walter Gordon Gawthorpe, flight engineer,†
P/O Charles Douglas Ernest Burney, navigator,
Sgt Harold John West, bomb aimer, †
Sgt William Harding, wireless operator, †
Sgt James Logan Whyte, air gunner, †
Sgt Joseph Smurthwaite, air gunner. †
Crew:
Sgt Norman Clive Beer, pilot, †
Sgt Walter Gordon Gawthorpe, flight engineer,†
P/O Charles Douglas Ernest Burney, navigator,
Sgt Harold John West, bomb aimer, †
Sgt William Harding, wireless operator, †
Sgt James Logan Whyte, air gunner, †
Sgt Joseph Smurthwaite, air gunner. †
Probable cause:
Shot down by the German Flak.
