Hainaut

The airplane departed RAF Elvington at 2000LT on March 9 on an operation to Munich. The following night, while returning to base, it was shot down by a German fighter and crashed in Boussu. A crew was killed, three others became PoW and three evaded.
Crew:
S/L Robert John Sage, pilot,
Sgt B. J. I. Walker, flight engineer,
F/Lt Brian Desmond Barker, navigator,
Sgt M. Crabtree, bomb aimer,
P/O Dennis Walter Bateman, wireless operator,
Sgt Dennis Loader Morris, air gunner,
F/O Kenneth Alexander Adam, air gunner. †

The airplane departed RAF Thurleigh to attack the Compagnie de Fives steel plant in Lille. It bombed the secondary target of the Luftwaffe airfield at Courtrai, Belgium.While approaching the target area, it was hit by the German Flak, causing the engine n°3 to catch fire. The copilot managed to extinguish the fire as the plane went over the target when four bombs hung up preventing the closing of the bomb bay doors. With only three engines operating, the formation made a 360° turn over enemy territory, encouraging enemy fighters to attack. The bomber started to lag behind the formation and tried to reach the English coast as it was being attacked by four Fw 190s. In an attack 20mm cannon shells ripped into the cockpit as the pilots lost control sending the plane into a flat spin. Some of the crew bailed out before it crashed near the village of Néchin. Six crew members were killed, two evaded and one became PoW.
Crew:
Cpt John W. Olson, pilot, †
2nd Lt Joseph N. Gates, copilot, †
T/Sgt Thomas W. Dynan Jr., radio operator, †
T/Sgt Erwin Derold Wissenback, mechanic,
2nd Lt William John Gise Jr., navigator,
2nd Lt Albert W. LaChasse, bomb aimer,
S/Sgt Bert E. Kaylor, air gunner, †
S/Sgt Bruce C. Nicholson, air gunner, †
S/Sgt Truman C. Wilder Jr., air gunner. †

The airplane departed RAF Woodhall Spa at 2102LT on August 28 on an operation to Nuremberg. While returning to base the following night, it was shot down by a German fighter and crashed in Maurage. All seven crew members were killed.
Crew:
F/Sgt John Hector Dinning, pilot,
Sgt Victor Arthur Hamon, pilot,
Sgt William Edleston Spooner, flight engineer,
Sgt Ellis Victor Cope, observer,
Sgt Charles Herbert Brummitt, wireless operator,
Sgt Harold John Endley, wireless operator,
Sgt Brian Quinn, air gunner.

The airplane departed RAF Balderton at 1954LT on an operation to Saarbrücken. It was shot down by a German fighter and crashed in Boussu-lez-Walcourt, south of Froidchapelle. Two crew members were killed and two others evaded.
Crew:
W/Cdr John Despard Twigg, pilot, †
F/Sgt G. C. Fisher, observer, †
F/Lt Ian Maitland, wireless operator,
F/O Ralph Van den Bok, air gunner.

The airplane departed RAF Lakenheath 2045LT on August 24 on an operation to Frankfurt. While returning to base the following night, it was shot down by a German fighter and crashed in Thieulain. Three crew members became PoW and four others evaded.
Crew:
Sgt Joseph Basil Downing,
Sgt Douglas Allen Baker,
Sgt T. J. Jenkins,
Sgt H. Williams,
Sgt F. .J Berthelsen,
F/Sgt V. S. Wood,
Sgt G. L. Robinson.

The airplane departed RAF Waddington on an operation to Frankfurt. Passing over Belgium, it was shot down by a German fighter and crashed in Feluy, killing the entire crew.
Crew:
P/O Leys Middleton Beaumont, pilot,
P/O Denis Franklin Nicholson, pilot,
P/O Joseph Matthews Rickard, observer,
P/O Gordon Cameron McDonald, observer,
Sgt James Vincent Holland, wireless operator,
F/Sgt Frank Hagger, air gunner,
F/Sgt Robert Gerald Page, air gunner.

The airplane departed RAF Honeybourne at 2340LT on July 31 on an operation to Düsseldorf. While returning to base the following night, it was shot down by a German fighter and crashed in a wooded area located near Fleurus, northeast of Charleroi. A wireless operator was killed and three other crew members evaded.
Crew:
Sgt William Thomas Whiting, wireless operator, †
Sgt J. B. R. Black,
Sgt Arthur James Whicher,
P/O Geoffrey Silva.

The airplane departed RAF Swinderby at 0001LT on an operation to Saarbrücken. It was shot down by a German fighter and exploded over Braine-le-Comte. One of the four engines crashed on a school that served as shelter for German troops. Six soldiers of the 23 Infantry Division were killed and two others were injured, one seriously. Three houses were destroyed.
Crew:
Sgt Leslie Foster, pilot,
Sgt Douglas John Ware, flight engineer,
P/O Robert Hugh Curran, observer,
Sgt Allan Wyles, wireless operator,
F/Sgt Cameron Duff Kennedy, air gunner,
Sgt Cyril John Stallard, air gunner,
Sgt Cyril Alfred Bowes, air gunner.

The airplane departed RAF Breighton at 2325LT on June 1st on an operation to Essen. Over Belgium, it was shot down by a German fighter and crashed in Binche, killing the entire crew.
Crew:
Sgt John Francis Walsh, pilot,
Sgt William Marcel Spongberg, pilot,
Sgt Maurice Michael Fitzgerald, observer,
Sgt Thomas Lee, bomb aimer,
Sgt John Bruce Moore, wireless operator,
Sgt Wallace Hugh Sams, air gunner.

The airplane departed RAF Harwell at 2314LT on May 30 on an operation to Cologne. Over Belgium, it was shot down by a German fighter and crashed in Montigny-le-Tilleul. Three crew members were killed and two others became PoW.
Crew:
Sgt Dennis John Paul, pilot,
W/O Stanley Maurice Green, observer, †
F/Sgt Thomas Leo Lyons, wireless operator, †
Sgt James McCormack, wireless operator, †
F/Sgt "Bunny" Evans, air gunner.