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Halifax III MZ808 crashed at Langøre between the island of
Fyn and Helnæs 16/8 1944.
The aircraft belonged to RCAF (RAF) 433 Sqn. Bomber Command and was coded BM-P.
T/o 21:27 Skipton on Swale. OP: Gardening Kiel Bay.
When outbound flying at 4400 metres the Halifax was attacked by a German night
fighter piloted by Oberleutnant Herbert Koch at 1./ NJG 3. It caught fire and
exploded in the air before crashing at Langøre between the island of Fyn and
Helnæs at 23:52 hours.
Around 01:00 hours people living in the area of Sønderby Klint heard shouts for
help from the sea and a motorboat was launched to try to rescue the flyers.
It
found Navigator F/O George H. Gill and Air Gnr. F/O Philippe R. Marchildon 1
kilometres off the farm “Strandlyst” and took them to the hospital in Assens.
They were examined and apart from being tired from the time in the water found
to be otherwise all right. They were then taken to the German barracks in town.
In the afternoon they were sent to Dulag Luft at Oberursel for questioning.
After a few days Gill was sent to Stalag Luft I Barth and Marchildon was sent to
Stalag Luft II Sagan.
In the morning two bodies was found washed ashore near Saltofte and two were
found on the beach a little south of “Strandlyst” farm. They were all found to
be wearing an inflated Mae West and three of them had managed to release their
parachute after landing in the sea.
The four bodies were during the afternoon taken to Sønderby cemetery and buried
in a common grave without coffins by the Wehrmacht. They were Air Bomber F/O
Jacques O. Clerc RCAF, Flt. Engr. Sgt Robert F. Young RAF, Air Gnr. F/Sgt John
W. Moffat RCAF and Pilot F/Lt John A. Morgan RCAF.
On 24/8 the body of W/Op P/O Courtney R. Steward RCAF was found entangled in
some wreckage in the sea and taken to Sønderby cemetery where it was laid to
rest on 25/8 1944.
The crashsite
(National Arcive Canada)
Pilot F/Lt John A. Morgan RCAF
(Finn Buch)
Sønderby cemetery
Sources: OLCB, LBUK, AS 31-143, CWGC.
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