Friesland

Operator:

Registration:

ED723

Flight Phase:

Flight Type:

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Site:

Handley Page H.P.52 Hampden

Schedule:

Waddington - Waddington

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The airplane departed RAF Waddington at 2241LT on May 23 on an operation to Dortmund. Passing over the Netherlands, it was shot down a the German fighter and crashed into the Waddenzee some 10 km off Terschelling. All seven crew members were killed.
Crew:
P/O James Leonard Drysdale, pilot,
Sgt John Finsterbush Lester, flight engineer,
F/O William Allan Marsden, navigator,
F/Sgt Horace William Enoch Hyett, bomb aimer,
Sgt Samuel Jones, wireless operator,
Sgt Arthur Sidney Bushill, air gunner,
P/O Francis Aloysius Doherty, air gunner.

Probable cause:

Shot down by a German fighter.

Crash of a Handley Page H.P.52 Hampden I off Schiermonnikoog Island: 4 killed

Date & Time: May 18, 1943 at 0150 LT

Type of aircraft:

Operator:

Registration:

AN153

Flight Phase:

Flight Type:

Survivors:

Site:

Handley Page H.P.52 Hampden

Schedule:

Thorney Island - Thorney Island

Location:

Schiermonnikoog Island

Friesland

Country:

Netherlands

Region:

Europe

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The airplane departed RAF Thorney Island on an operation to the Frisian Islands. Approaching the Dutch coast, it was shot down by the German Flak and crashed into the sea some 15 km north northwest of Schiermonnikoog Island. All four crew members were killed.
Crew:
F/Sgt Lawrence Edward McGee, pilot,
F/O L. G. Burgess, navigator,
W/O Edward John Ramey, wireless operator,
Sgt G. B. Jackson, air gunner.

Probable cause:

Shot down by the German Flak.

Crash of a Handley Page H.P.52 Hampden off Schiermonnikoog Island: 4 killed

Date & Time: May 18, 1943 at 0048 LT

Type of aircraft:

Operator:

Registration:

L6055

Flight Phase:

Flight Type:

Survivors:

Site:

Schedule:

Thorney Island - Thorney Island

Location:

Schiermonnikoog Island

Friesland

Country:

Netherlands

Region:

Europe

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The airplane departed RAF Thorney Island at 2135LT on May 17 on an operation to the Frisian Islands. It was shot down by the German Flak and crashed into the sea 15 km northwest of Schiermonnikoog Island. All four crew members were killed.
Crew:
P/O Keith Cameron Wathen, pilot,
F/O John Maxwell Crawford, observer,
F/Sgt Ian Murray Sykes, wireless operator,
Sgt Jabez Harold Steward, air gunner.

Probable cause:

Shot down by the German Flak.

Crash of an Avro 683 Lancaster III off Harlingen: 7 killed

Date & Time: May 16, 1943 at 2257 LT

Type of aircraft:

Operator:

Registration:

ED934

Flight Phase:

Flight Type:

Survivors:

Site:

Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress

Schedule:

Scampton - Scampton

Location:

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The airplane departed RAF Scampton at 2130LT on May 15 to attack the Sorpe Dam located 40 km southeast of Dortmund. While passing over the Netherlands at night at an altitude of 300 feet, it was shot down by the German Flak and crashed into the Waddenzee, west of Harlingen. All seven crew members were killed.
Crew (617th Squadron):
P/O Vernon William Byers, pilot,
Sgt Alastair James Taylor, flight engineer,
P/O James Herbert Warner, navigator,
Sgt Arthur Neville Whitaker, air bomber,
Sgt John Wilkinson, wireless operator and air gunner,
Sgt Charles McAllister Jarvie, air gunner,
F/Sgt James McDowell, air gunner.

Probable cause:

Shot down by the German Flak.

Crash of a Boeing B-17F-30-DL Flying Fortress off Ameland Island: 10 killed

Date & Time: May 15, 1943

Type of aircraft:

Operator:

Registration:

42-3173

Flight Phase:

Flight Type:

Survivors:

Site:

Handley Page H.P.57 Halifax II

Schedule:

Polebrook - Polebrook

MSN:

8109

YOM:

1943

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The airplane departed RAF Polebrook on an operation to a railway marshalling yard in Emden. While returning to base and flying along the Frisian Islands, it was shot down by a German fighter and crashed into the North Sea some 80 km north of Ameland Island. All 10 crew members were killed.
Crew:
1st Lt Joseph A. Meli Jr., pilot,
2nd Lt Robert P. Cooper, copilot,
2nd Lt Jack Howell, navigator,
2nd Lt Howard E. Lewis, bombardier,
S/Sgt Stanford W. Henry, flight engineer,
T/Sgt Bernard A. Guenzig, radio operator,
S/Sgt Dewey K. Bishop, air gunner,
S/Sgt Louis M. Hilscher, air gunner,
S/Sgt Melvin E. Hugo, air gunner,
S/Sgt Charles D. Summers, air gunner.

Probable cause:

Shot down by a German fighter.

Crash of a Handley Page H.P.57 Halifax II in Wijnaldum: 7 killed

Date & Time: May 14, 1943 at 0254 LT

Type of aircraft:

Operator:

Registration:

JB924

Flight Phase:

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Schedule:

Linton-on-Ouse - Linton-on-Ouse

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The airplane departed RAF Linton-on-Ouse at 2317LT on May 13 on an operation to Bochum. Passing over the Netherlands, it was shot down by a German fighter and crashed in Wijnaldum, 3 km northeast of Harlingen. Seven crew members were killed and the bomb aimer survived and became PoW.
Crew:
P/O Richard Edward Bragg, pilot, †
Sgt Edwin Pritchard, pilot, †
F/Lt Robert Grey, flight engineer, †
W/O John Miller Farrell, navigator, †
Sgt Harry Ennis Gell, bomb aimer,
Sgt Rodger David Matches, wireless operator, †
Sgt David Baxter, air gunner, †
F/Sgt Allan Alfred Kew, air gunner. †

Probable cause:

Shot down by a German fighter.

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

Date & Time: May 13, 1943 at 2351 LT

Type of aircraft:

Operator:

Registration:

ED589

Flight Phase:

Flight Type:

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Site:

Plain, Valley

Schedule:

Bardney - Bardney

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The airplane departed RAF Bardney at 2142LT on an operation to Plzeň. Outbound, it was shot down by a German fighter and crashed in Hielsum. All seven crew members were killed.
Crew:
Sgt George Henry Saxton, pilot,
Sgt Douglas Claude Ferris, flight engineer,
F/Sgt Wallace Reginald MacDonald, navigator,
Sgt Roger Marshall Morris, bomb aimer,
Sgt John Reddish, wireless operator,
Sgt John Charles Owen, air gunner,
Sgt James Buntin, air gunner.

Probable cause:

Shot down by a German fighter.

Crash of an Avro 683 Lancaster I in Eesterga: 6 killed

Date & Time: May 13, 1943 at 2322 LT

Type of aircraft:

Handley Page H.P.57 Halifax II

Operator:

Registration:

W4981

Flight Phase:

Flight Type:

Survivors:

Site:

Schedule:

Wyton - Wyton

Location:

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The airplane departed RAF Wyton at 2154LT on an operation to Plzeň. Passing over the Netherlands, it was shot down by a German fighter and crashed in Eesterga, 16 km southwest of Heerenveen. Six crew members were killed and one became PoW.
Crew:
Sgt Anthony Steven Renshaw, pilot, †
Sgt Frederick Arthur Worsnop, flight engineer, †
Sgt Joseph Edward Lecomber, navigator, †
Sgt Henry Rochead Williamson, bomb aimer, †
F/O Stanley Wilfred Gould, wireless operator,
Sgt James McGhee Hargreaves, air gunner, †
Sgt Jack Richard Stone, air gunner. †

Probable cause:

Shot down by a German fighter.

Crash of a Handley Page H.P.57 Halifax II near Harlingen: 7 killed

Date & Time: May 13, 1943 at 0202 LT

Type of aircraft:

Operator:

Registration:

DT645

Flight Phase:

Flight Type: