Lancaster III JB725 crashed near Jelling 9/4 1944

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Lancaster III JB725 crashed near Jelling 9/4 1944.

The aircraft belonged to RAF 57 Sqn. Bomber Command and was coded DX-M.
T/o 21:23 East Kirkby. OP: Gardening the Baltic Sea.

On its way to the target area JB725 was attacked by a German night fighter piloted by Oberfeldwebel Rudolf Mangelsdorf from 12./NJG 3 while flying at 4000 metres altitude. The Lancaster caught fire, exploded in the air and crashed to the ground south of the village of Jelling at 23:48 hours killing the whole crew.
It crashed in a field belonging to farmer Jens Beck where it made a 15 by 5 metres crater 3 metres deep.

Human remains were spread over a wide area and it was not possibly to determine how many persons there had been in the aircraft.

On 15/4 1944 the remains of the crew was laid to rest in one grave in Fourfelt cemetery in Esbjerg.

The crew were: P/O Jack Finch RAAF, F/Sgt Francis Julian Herbert Garrick, P/O Harold Edward Quinn RCAF, F/Sgt Ian Albert Rands RAAF, Sgt John George Robson, Sgt Robert Smedley and Sgt Harry Bateman West.

(Hans Støjberg via Peer Petersen )