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Crash of a Short S.29 Stirling I in Vechta: 7 killed

Date & Time: Dec 17, 1942 at 1956 LT
Type of aircraft:
Short S.29 Stirling
Operator:
Registration:
R9247
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Bombing
Survivors:
No
Site:
Airport (less than 10 km from airport)
Schedule:
Newmarket - Newmarket
Location:
Vechta
Lower Saxony
Country:
Germany
Region:
Europe
Crew on board:
7
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
7
Circumstances:
The airplane departed RAF Newmarket at 1800LT on an operation to Fallersleben. Approaching Vechta, it was shot down by a German fighter and crashed near the airfield. All seven crew members were killed.
Crew:
F/Sgt Henry Edwin Rousseau, pilot,
Sgt William Wilson Morton, flight engineer,
P/O Mervyn Oliver Clark, observer,
Sgt Reginald Crosby Mocock, bomb aimer,
Sgt Christopher James Kendal, wireless operator,
F/Sgt John Fellows, air gunner,
Sgt Henry Welsh Pullar, air gunner.
Probable cause:
Shot down by a German fighter.

Crash of an Avro 683 Lancaster I in Gejlbjerg: 7 killed

Date & Time: Dec 17, 1942 at 1953 LT
Type of aircraft:
Avro 683 Lancaster
Operator:
Registration:
W4786
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Bombing
Survivors:
No
Site:
Plain, Valley
Schedule:
Elsham Wolds - Elsham Wolds
Location:
Gejlbjerg
Syddanmark
Country:
Denmark
Region:
Europe
Crew on board:
7
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
7
Circumstances:
The airplane departed RAF Elsham Wolds at 1735LT to lay mines to the Broccoli region of the Great Belt. Over Denmark, it was shot down by a German fighter and crashed in Gejlbjerg, 2 km southeast of Agerskov. All seven crew members were killed.
Crew:
P/O Harry Bernard Smith, pilot,
Sgt Frederick Reginald Collins, flight engineer,
F/O Samuel Tweedy Hewitt, navigator,
Sgt Gerald Thomas Canterbury, wireless operator,
Sgt Norman Frater, wireless operator,
W/O Jack Athelston Hollinsworth, air gunner,
W/O Angus Daniel MacDonald, air gunner.
Probable cause:
Shot down by a German fighter.

Crash of an Avro 683 Lancaster I in Bekhausen: 1 killed

Date & Time: Dec 17, 1942 at 1948 LT
Type of aircraft:
Avro 683 Lancaster
Operator:
Registration:
ED349
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Bombing
Survivors:
Yes
Site:
Plain, Valley
Schedule:
Waddington - Waddington
Location:
Bekhausen
Lower Saxony
Country:
Germany
Region:
Europe
Crew on board:
7
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
1
Circumstances:
The airplane departed RAF Waddington at 1703LT on an operation to Cloppenburg. It was shot down by the German Flak and crashed in Bekhausen. A crew was killed and six others became PoW.
Crew:
Sgt John Wilson, pilot,
Sgt Elliot Richmond Aldridge,
Sgt Leslie Britton Holmes,
Sgt John Richard Lord,
Sgt Alexander Stoddart MacKinley,
Sgt Albert Willis,
F/Sgt William Harvey Penn, air gunner. †
Probable cause:
Shot down by the German Flak.

Crash of an Avro 683 Lancaster I near Grafeld: 5 killed

Date & Time: Dec 17, 1942 at 1933 LT
Type of aircraft:
Avro 683 Lancaster
Operator:
Registration:
W4155
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Bombing
Survivors:
Yes
Site:
Plain, Valley
Schedule:
Waddington - Waddington
Location:
Grafeld
Lower Saxony
Country:
Germany
Region:
Europe
Crew on board:
7
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
5
Circumstances:
The airplane departed RAF Waddington at 1712LT on an operation to Diepholz. Over Germany, it was shot down by the German Flak and crashed south of Grafeld, near the road to Ohrte. Five crew members were killed and two others became PoW.
Crew:
Sgt Colin Frederick Allen, pilot, †
Sgt Charles Henry Nadin, flight engineer, †
F/O Laurence George Newman, navigator, †
Sgt Charles William Dickens, wireless operator, †
Sgt Herbert Victor Brown,
Sgt James Michael Terence O'Neill,
F/Lt Charles Guthrie Shields Bain, air gunner. †
Probable cause:
Shot down by the German Flak.

Crash of a Vickers 417 Wellington III in Grafeld: 5 killed

Date & Time: Dec 17, 1942 at 1920 LT
Type of aircraft:
Vickers 417 Wellington III
Operator:
Registration:
BK336
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Bombing
Survivors:
No
Site:
Plain, Valley
Schedule:
East Wretham - East Wretham
Location:
Grafeld
Lower Saxony
Country:
Germany
Region:
Europe
Crew on board:
5
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
5
Circumstances:
The airplane departed RAF East Wretham at 1733LT on an operation to Fallersleben. Over Germany, it was shot down by the German Flak and crashed in Grafeld, 34 km southwest of Cloppenburg. All five crew members were killed.
Crew:
Sgt Robert Philling Crisp, pilot,
Sgt Charles Derrick Lamont, navigator,
Sgt Joseph Clegg Wood, bomb aimer,
Sgt William Owen Howard Williams, wireless operator,
Sgt Arthur Douglas Rowsell, air gunner.
Probable cause:
Shot down by the German Flak.

Crash of a Short S.29 Stirling I off Den Helder: 7 killed

Date & Time: Dec 17, 1942 at 1915 LT
Type of aircraft:
Short S.29 Stirling
Operator:
Registration:
BF403
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Bombing
Survivors:
No
Site:
Lake, Sea, Ocean, River
Schedule:
Downham Market - Downham Market
Location:
Den Helder
North Holland
Country:
Netherlands
Region:
Europe
Crew on board:
7
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
7
Circumstances:
The airplane departed RAF Downham Market at 1802LT on an operation to Fallersleben. Over the Netherlands, it was shot down by the German Flak and crashed in the Marsdiep off Den Helder. All seven crew members were killed.
Crew:
F/Sgt Leonard Clarence Shepherd, pilot,
Sgt Cyril Martin Taylor, flight engineer,
Sgt Stanley Holmes, navigator,
Sgt Alan John Claude Lavers, bomb aimer,
W/O Joseph Noel Charles Hornidge, wireless operator,
Sgt Alan Frank Copplestone, air gunner,
Sgt Glyn Price, air gunner.
Probable cause:
Shot down by the German Flak.

Crash of an Avro 683 Lancaster I in Üdinghausen-Warringhof: 2 killed

Date & Time: Dec 17, 1942 at 1908 LT
Type of aircraft:
Avro 683 Lancaster
Operator:
Registration:
R5666
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Bombing
Survivors:
Yes
Site:
Plain, Valley
Schedule:
Waddington - Waddington
Location:
Üdinghausen-Warringhof
Lower Saxony
Country:
Germany
Region:
Europe
Crew on board:
7
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
2
Circumstances:
The airplane departed RAF Waddington on an operation to Nienburg. It was shot down by the German Flak and crashed in Üdinghausen-Warringhof, 16 southeast of Osnabrück. Two crew members were killed and five became PoW.
Crew:
F/O Ronald Robert Michell, pilot,
Sgt John Kenneth Alger,
Sgt Harry Brown,
Sgt Edward Herbert Bundy,
F/Sgt George Thomas Graham,
F/Sgt John Kinghorn, air gunner, †
F/Sgt William George Sheppard, air gunner. †
Probable cause:
Shot down by the German Flak.

Crash of an Avro 683 Lancaster I in Den Hoorn: 6 killed

Date & Time: Dec 17, 1942 at 1847 LT
Type of aircraft:
Avro 683 Lancaster
Operator:
Registration:
W4126
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Bombing
Survivors:
Yes
Site:
Plain, Valley
Schedule:
Waddington - Waddington
Location:
Den Hoorn
South Holland
Country:
Netherlands
Region:
Europe
Crew on board:
7
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
6
Circumstances:
The airplane departed RAF Waddington in the afternoon on an operation to Nienburg. Over the Netherlands, it was shot down by the German Flak and crashed in Den Hoorn. Six crew members were killed and one became PoW.
Crew:
F/O Lawrence Gerard Lyons McNamara, pilot, †
Sgt George Alan Read, flight engineer,
F/O James William Loree, observer, †
F/O Raymond Norman McCleery, observer, †
Sgt Kenneth Robert MacLeod, wireless operator, †
Sgt Geoffrey Beckett, air gunner, †
Sgt Gordon William Jones, air gunner. †
Probable cause:
Shot down by the German Flak.

Crash of a Bristol 142 Blenheim I at Canrobert AFB

Date & Time: Dec 17, 1942 at 1750 LT
Type of aircraft:
Bristol 142 Blenheim
Operator:
Registration:
BA732
Flight Phase:
Takeoff (climb)
Flight Type:
Bombing
Survivors:
Yes
Site:
Airport (less than 10 km from airport)
Schedule:
Canrobert - Canrobert
Location:
Canrobert AFB
Oum el Bouaghi
Country:
Algeria
Region:
Africa
Crew on board:
3
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
The airplane departed Canrobert Airfield at 1750LT on an operation to Tunis. During the takeoff run, one of tyre burst. The airplane went out of control and crashed, bursting into flames. All three crew members escaped uninjured.
Crew:
S/L Peter de Lacey Le Cheminant, pilot,
F/O W. Service, observer,
P/O James William Ryder, wireless operator and air gunner.
Probable cause:
Loss of control during takeoff after a tyre burst.

Crash of an Avro 683 Lancaster I near RAF Predannack: 7 killed

Date & Time: Dec 17, 1942 at 0300 LT
Type of aircraft:
Avro 683 Lancaster
Operator:
Registration:
W4359
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Training
Survivors:
No
Site:
Plain, Valley
Schedule:
Predannack - Predannack
Location:
Predannack AFB
Cornwall
Country:
United Kingdom
Region:
Europe
Crew on board:
7
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
7
Circumstances:
The airplane departed RAF Predannack on a night training exercise. While flying in the vicinity of the airfield, it caught fire and crashed in an open field 8 km northeast of the airbase. All seven crew members were killed.
Crew:
Sgt Thomas Irvine Manson, pilot,
Sgt William Henry Taylor, flight engineer,
F/O Francis George Shell, observer,
Sgt John Oswald Irving, bomb aimer,
F/Sgt Ewen Cameron McPhee, wireless operator,
Sgt Herbert Munro Sims, air gunner,
Sgt Robert Sidney Doore, air gunner.
Probable cause:
It is believed that the bomber was struck by lightning, causing the photo flash flare to ignite.
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