Date & Time:
Jul 4, 1943 at 0130 LT
Type of aircraft:
Short S.29 Stirling
Operator:
Registration:
BK718
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Bombing
Survivors:
Yes
Site:
Plain, Valley
Schedule:
West Wickham - West Wickham
Country:
Germany
Region:
Europe
Crew on board:
7
Crew fatalities:
6
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
0
Other fatalities:
0
Total fatalities:
6
Circumstances:
The airplane departed RAF West Wickham at 2326LT on July 3 on an operation to Cologne. Approaching the target area, it was shot down by a German fighter and crashed in Mehlem, south of Bonn. Six crew members were killed and an air gunner survived and became PoW.
Crew:
F/Lt Robert Charles Platt, pilot, †
Sgt Hugh Murray, flight engineer, †
P/O Andrew Patrick Gilmour, navigator, †
Sgt Robert Freeland, bomb aimer, †
Sgt Oliver Beard, wireless operator, †
P/O Geoffrey Charles Smith, air gunner, †
Sgt Ivor Henry Norris, air gunner.
Crew:
F/Lt Robert Charles Platt, pilot, †
Sgt Hugh Murray, flight engineer, †
P/O Andrew Patrick Gilmour, navigator, †
Sgt Robert Freeland, bomb aimer, †
Sgt Oliver Beard, wireless operator, †
P/O Geoffrey Charles Smith, air gunner, †
Sgt Ivor Henry Norris, air gunner.
Probable cause:
Shot down by a German fighter.
