Antwerp | Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archives

The airplane departed RAF Lissett at 2309LT on June 22 on an operation to Mülheim. Passing over Belgium, it was shot down by a German fighter and crashed in Leest, killing the entire crew.
Crew:
F/Sgt Leonard Ernest Cavanagh, pilot,
Sgt Robert James Sage, flight engineer,
Sgt Thomas Ridley Forster, navigator,
F/O Daniel Valentine Elliott, bomb aimer,
Sgt Walter Richard Green, wireless operator,
P/O Ronald Albert Charles Maund, air gunner,
F/Sgt Oliver William Todd, air gunner.

Probable cause:

Shot down by a German fighter.

Crash of a Vickers 440 Wellington X in 's-Gravenwezel: 2 killed

Date & Time: Jun 22, 1943 at 0124 LT

Type of aircraft:

Vickers 440 Wellington X

Operator:

Registration:

HE347

Flight Phase:

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Schedule:

Hemswell - Hemswell

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The airplane departed RAF Hemswell at 2315LT on June 21 on an operation to Krefeld. Passing over Belgium, it was shot down by a German fighter and crashed in 's-Gravenwezel. Two crew members were killed, one evaded and two others became PoW.
Crew:
Sgt Stanisław Krzysztof Szpalinski, pilot, †
W/O Antoni Fried,
P/O Stanisław Gasecki,
F/O Roman Paczkowski,
Sgt Leopold B. Makarski, air gunner. †

Probable cause:

Shot down by a German fighter.

Crash of an Avro 683 Lancaster III in Vorst-Meerlaar: 4 killed

Date & Time: Jun 17, 1943 at 0151 LT

Type of aircraft:

Avro 683 Lancaster

Operator:

Registration:

ED487

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Bardney - Bardney

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The airplane departed RAF Bardney at 2223LT on June 16 on an operation to Cologne. Passing over Belgium, it was shot down by a German fighter and crashed in Vorst-Meerlaar. Four crew members were killed and three others became PoW.
Crew:
Sgt John Anthony Aldersley, pilot,
Sgt Patrick Hall, flight engineer, †
Sgt Denis Webster, navigator, †
Sgt Harold Popplestone, bomb aimer,
Sgt Charles James Sinclair, wireless operator,
Sgt Herbert Francis Poynter, air gunner, †
F/Sgt David Gerald Tremblay, air gunner. †

Probable cause:

Shot down by a German fighter.

Crash of an Avro 683 Lancaster III in Wommelgem: 7 killed

Date & Time: Jun 17, 1943 at 0100 LT

Type of aircraft:

Avro 683 Lancaster

Operator:

Registration:

ED553

Flight Phase:

Flight

Flight Type:

Bombing

Survivors:

Site:

Plain, Valley

Schedule:

Grimsby - Grimsby

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The airplane departed RAF Grimsby at 2245LT on June 16 on an operation to Cologne. Passing over Belgium, it was shot down by a German fighter and crashed in Wommelgem, 8 km east southeast of Antwerp. All seven crew members were killed.
Crew:
Sgt Clifford Boughton, pilot,
Sgt Alfred John Banfield, flight engineer,
Sgt Douglas Hope Newton Slinger, navigator,
Sgt Cyril Claude Dabson, wireless operator,
Sgt George Taylor, bomb aimer,
Sgt Walter Ernest Barley, air gunner,
Sgt James Walker, air gunner.

Probable cause:

Shot down by a German fighter.

Crash of an Avro 683 Lancaster III in Lier: 4 killed

Date & Time: Jun 17, 1943 at 0045 LT

Type of aircraft:

Avro 683 Lancaster

Operator:

Registration:

ED840

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Warboys - Warboys

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The airplane departed RAF Warboys at 2244LT on June 16 on an operation to Cologne. Passing over Belgium, it was shot down by a German fighter and crashed in Lier, 15 km southeast of Antwerp. Four crew members were killed and three others became PoW.
Crew:
S/L John Cameron MacKintosh, pilot, †
Sgt Reginald Charles Drinkwater, flight engineer,
F/Sgt Ronald Frank Alfred Dobson, navigator, †
Sgt Eric Edmund Weare, bomb aimer,
F/Sgt Peter Woodcock, wireless operator, †
Sgt Leonard George Ledamun, air gunner,
P/O Eric Joseph Monk, air gunner. †

Probable cause:

Shot down by a German fighter.

Crash of an Avro 683 Lancaster III in Antwerp: 7 killed

Date & Time: Jun 15, 1943 at 0053 LT

Type of aircraft:

Avro 683 Lancaster

Operator:

Registration:

ED810

Flight Phase:

Flight

Flight Type:

Bombing

Survivors:

Site:

City

Schedule:

Skellingthorpe - Skellingthorpe

Location:

Antwerp

Country:

Belgium

Region:

Europe

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The airplane departed RAF Skellingthorpe in the evening of June 14 on an operation to Oberhausen. Passing over Belgium, it was shot down by a German fighter and crashed in Antwerp, killing the entire crew.
Crew:
F/O Albert Victor Crawford, pilot,
Sgt Leslie Toal, flight engineer,
Sgt Arthur Ernest Davey, navigator,
Sgt William George Reed, bomb aimer,
Sgt Joseph Brown McHendry, wireless operator,
Sgt Charles Joseph Buckle, air gunner,
Sgt Kenneth Ivor Bowerman, air gunner.

Probable cause:

Shot down by a German fighter.

Crash of a Handley Page H.P.57 Halifax II in Hoogstraten: 5 killed

Date & Time: May 30, 1943 at 0007 LT

Type of aircraft:

Handley Page H.P.57 Halifax II

Operator:

Registration:

HR833

Flight Phase:

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Schedule:

Graveley - Graveley

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The airplane departed RAF Graveley at 2227LT on May 29 on an operation to Wuppertal. It was shot down by a German fighter, exploded and crashed in Hoogstraten. Five crew members were killed and two others became PoW.
Crew:
W/O James Livingston Lee, pilot, †
F/Lt William Abbotson Tetley, navigator, †
P/O John Charles Goodson,
Sgt George Arthur Jones,
F/Sgt Herbert John Ross, †
Sgt Victor Stanley Platt, air gunner, †
Sgt Frank Morley Traynor, air gunner. †

Probable cause:

Shot down by a German fighter.

Crash of an Avro 683 Lancaster III in 's-Gravenwezel: 3 killed

Date & Time: May 26, 1943 at 0210 LT

Type of aircraft:

Avro 683 Lancaster

Operator:

Registration:

ED768

Flight Phase:

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Bottesford - Bottesford

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The airplane departed RAF Bottesford at 2341LT on May 25 on an operation to Düsseldorf. It was shot down by a German fighter and crashed in 's-Gravenwezel. Three crew members were killed and four others became PoW.
Crew:
F/Sgt John Maxwell Parsons, pilot,
Sgt Bernard Spencer, flight engineer,
Sgt John Patrick Egan, navigator,
Sgt Norman Jardine Vaulkhard, bomb aimer,
Sgt John Francom Selman, wireless operator,
Sgt R. A. Hunt, air gunner,
Sgt Thomas Chalmers, air gunner.

Probable cause:

Shot down by a German fighter.

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

Date & Time: May 14, 1943 at 0307 LT

Type of aircraft:

Short S.29 Stirling

Operator:

Registration:

BF479

Flight Phase:

Flight

Flight Type:

Bombing

Survivors:

Site:

Plain, Valley

Schedule:

Lakenheath - Lakenheath

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The airplane departed RAF Lakenheath at 0055LT on an operation to Bochum. Outbound, it was shot down by a German fighter and crashed in Kasterlee, 9 km south of Turnhout. All eight crew members were killed.
Crew:
F/O Leslie Cyril Martin, pilot,
F/Sgt Robert Chrysler Ferguson, pilot,
Sgt Jack Eric Butt, flight engineer,
Sgt Norman Harry Frank, navigator,
F/O George Reicher Royde, navigator,
Sgt Edmund Hazelden-French, wireless operator,
Sgt Harold Arthur James Berry, air gunner,
F/Sgt Howard Philip Fudge, air gunner.

Probable cause:

Shot down by a German fighter.

Crash of a Handley Page H.P.57 Halifax II in Weelde: 2 killed

Date & Time: May 13, 1943 at 0218 LT

Type of aircraft:

Handley Page H.P.57 Halifax II

Operator:

Registration:

JB806

Flight Phase:

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Schedule:

Snaith - Snaith

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The airplane departed RAF Snaith at 2357LT on May 12 on an operation to Duisburg. The following night, while passing over Belgium, it was shot down by the German Flak and was abandoned by the crew. Out of control, it dove into the ground and crashed on a bakery located in the center of the village of Weelde, killing the owner's wife and daughter. All seven crew members parachuted to safety and became PoW.
Crew:
Sgt Beverley Brown, pilot,
Sgt Arthur Lloyd George Knight, flight engineer,
Sgt William Bruce Henderson, bomb aimer,
Sgt John Duncan Rae, navigator,
Sgt Kenneth Albert Goodchild, wireless operator,
Sgt William Esmond North-Lewis, air gunner,
Sgt Philippe Louis Marie Charles De Bourbon, air gunner.

Probable cause:

Shot down by the German Flak.

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