Date & Time:
May 5, 1943
Type of aircraft:
Avro 683 Lancaster
Operator:
Registration:
R5629
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Bombing
Survivors:
No
Site:
Plain, Valley
Schedule:
Wyton - Wyton
Country:
Germany
Region:
Europe
Crew on board:
8
Crew fatalities:
8
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
0
Other fatalities:
0
Total fatalities:
8
Circumstances:
The airplane departed RAF Wyton at 2234LT on April 4 on an operation to Dortmund. Approaching the target area, it was shot down by the German Flak and crashed, killing the entire crew of eight.
Crew:
Sgt John Robert Leigh, pilot,
W/Cdr James Robert Gillman, pilot,
Sgt Frederic James Cleasby, flight engineer,
F/O Oliver Mansell Cornish, observer,
Sgt Thomas Griffith, bomb aimer,
Sgt Fred Johnson, wireless operator,
Sgt Douglas Harry Rock, air gunner,
F/O Philip Ritchie Smith, air gunner.
Crew:
Sgt John Robert Leigh, pilot,
W/Cdr James Robert Gillman, pilot,
Sgt Frederic James Cleasby, flight engineer,
F/O Oliver Mansell Cornish, observer,
Sgt Thomas Griffith, bomb aimer,
Sgt Fred Johnson, wireless operator,
Sgt Douglas Harry Rock, air gunner,
F/O Philip Ritchie Smith, air gunner.
Probable cause:
Shot down by the German Flak.
