Crash of an Avro 683 Lancaster III off Łeba: 7 killed
Date & Time:
Apr 29, 1943
Operator:
Registration:
ED408
Survivors:
No
Schedule:
Wickenby - Wickenby
Crew on board:
7
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
7
Circumstances:
The airplane departed RAF Wickenby on the evening of April 28 on a mine laying operation i the Spinach region. Over the target area, it was shot down by the German Flak and crashed into the sea 3 km off Łeba. All seven crew members were killed.
Crew:
Sgt George Elsworthy, pilot,
Sgt Edward Alexander Pye, flight engineer,
F/O Basil Vernon Lancelot Veira, navigator,
P/O James Love Haddow, bomb aimer,
F/Sgt William Edwin Freeman, wireless operator,
Sgt Cecil William Sinclair Downes, air gunner,
Sgt Richard Columba Grant, air gunner.
Crew:
Sgt George Elsworthy, pilot,
Sgt Edward Alexander Pye, flight engineer,
F/O Basil Vernon Lancelot Veira, navigator,
P/O James Love Haddow, bomb aimer,
F/Sgt William Edwin Freeman, wireless operator,
Sgt Cecil William Sinclair Downes, air gunner,
Sgt Richard Columba Grant, air gunner.
Probable cause:
Shot down by the German Flak.
