Crash of a Short S.29 Stirling I in Proville: 5 killed
Date & Time:
May 30, 1943 at 0207 LT
Operator:
Registration:
EF349
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Ridgewell - Ridgewell
Crew on board:
7
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
5
Circumstances:
The airplane departed RAF Ridgewell at 2309LT on May 29 on an operation to Wuppertal. It was shot down by a German fighter and crashed in Proville. Five crew members were killed and two others became PoW.
Crew:
F/O Robert William John Letters, pilot, †
Sgt Cecil William Hughes, flight engineer, †
Sgt Leslie Leighton King, navigator,
F/O Kenneth Trevor Estcourt, bomb aimer, †
Sgt Frank Alan Wells, wireless operator, †
Sgt Ronald Raven, air gunner, †
Sgt Henry Maskell, air gunner.
Crew:
F/O Robert William John Letters, pilot, †
Sgt Cecil William Hughes, flight engineer, †
Sgt Leslie Leighton King, navigator,
F/O Kenneth Trevor Estcourt, bomb aimer, †
Sgt Frank Alan Wells, wireless operator, †
Sgt Ronald Raven, air gunner, †
Sgt Henry Maskell, air gunner.
Probable cause:
Shot down by a German fighter.
