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Lancaster III NE144 ditched in the sea of Kattegat off the
island of Anholt 30/8 1944.
The aircraft belonged to RAAF (RAF) 460 Sqn. Bomber Command and was coded AR-F.
T/o 21:06 Binbrook. OP: Stettin.
At approx. 00:30 hours NE144 was attacked by a German “210” night fighter which
wounded the rear gunner Sgt Philip B. Aviet and shot away the elevator controls
and trims, set fire to the H2s and 6000 rounds of ammunition, put part of the
electrical equipment and intercom u/s.
Pilot F/L K.W. Humphris ordered the crew
to put on parachutes and to try to put out the fire. Next he dropped the bomb
load and turned towards base. Upon discovering that the elevator controls were
gone he headed for Sweden, controlling the Lancaster by use of the throttles.
Mid upper gunner Sgt Dennis Fallon and W/Op F/O Ronald K. Stratford DFM was told
to get the badly wounded rear gunner out of his turret.
They were loosing height
all the time and when down to 3000 ft the crew were ordered to take up ditching
positions.
Fallon and Stratford had got Aviet out of the turret, but denied to
leave him in the aft fuselage and choose to stay with him.
The ditching at approx. 01:00 hours north of the island of Anholt ( 564500N 113300E) was
successful, but the tail broke off and went down.
Humphris was thrown about 20
metres out in front of the Lancaster and when he swam back he found Navigator
F/O T.B. MacNeill Bomb Aimer Sgt G.D. Walsh and Flt. Engr. Sgt S.R. Wild sitting
on the Lancaster with the dinghy out.
The three men in the tail had gone down
with it.
(Via Helme)
(Handels- og Søfartsmuseet Kronborg)
(Via Helme)
The crew arriving at Anholt
The survivors entered the dinghy and in the early morning the dinghy was
observed from the island of Anholt and the rescue launch sailed out and picked
the flyers up. They were taken to the island where they were made POW`s by the
local Wehrmacht garrison. Then spent the next four days on the island before
they were shipped over to København by the weekly supply boat. From København
they were sent to Dulag Luft at Oberursel for interrogation, and after about a
week Humphris and MacNeill were sent to Stalag Luft I Barth while Walsh and
Wild were sent to Stalag Luft VII Bankau.
(Via Ole Kraul)
(Via Ole Kraul)
(Via Ole Kraul)
(Via Ole Kraul)
On 4/9 1944 the body of W/Op F/O Ronald K. Stratford was found washed ashore on
Vesterstrand beach on the island of Anholt. The German Wehrmacht buried the body
in Anholt cemetery on the same day.
(Gary Newman via Alain Charpentier)
W/Op F/O Ronald K. Stratford
(Hans Møller Hansen)
(Hans Møller Hansen)
Anholt cemetery
(Dieter Friedrick)
(Dieter Friedrick)
(Dieter Friedrick)
Tail gunner Sgt Philip B. Aviet and Mid upper gunner Sgt Dennis Fallon were
found washed ashore on the Swedish west coast and both rest in Falkenberg Forest
cemetery in Sweden.
After the war Humphris wrote a letter to Officer Commanding Noil, RAAF
describing the events of the night of 29/30-8-44 ending with:
I then recommend for bravery W/Op P/O Stratford DFC and Sgt Fallon as they gave
their lives endeavouring to save a wounded member of their crew, knowing that
after such a fire and the characteristics of the Lancaster that the tail
surviving a ditching was a million to one chance. The rest of the crew were also
outstanding in their duties and utter disregard for themselves.
The bomb load dropped from Lancaster NE114 consisted among other things of a
1000 lbs. cookie fell in a field next to Kærgade road in Vorup near Randers. It
detonated and the explosion destroyed 3 houses and rendered three houses
useless. Six civilians were killed and six were severely wounded while eleven
were lightly wounded.
Sources: CWGC, FAF, LBUK, Fyrdirektoratet, Letter from Humpfries to Noill, BCL,
AIR 25/13.
Night of 29/30 August 1944
Groups
Squadrons
Combats
Lancaster I PA163 crashed into Lovns
Bredning bay 29/8 1944
Lancaster I LM184 crashed Aalestrup
29/8 1944
Lancaster III PB202 crashed at Førby
Hede heath 30/8 1944
Lancaster X KB709 crashed in the sea
of Kattegat 6 miles off the island of Anholt 30/8 1944
Lancaster III PB143 crashed at
Ingerslev / Estruplund 30/8 1944
Lancaster III NE144 ditched in the
sea of Kattegat off the island of Anholt 30/8 1944
Lancaster III EE193 crashed in the
sea of Kattegat 30/8 1944
Lancaster I ME718 crashed at Ove
30/8 1944
Lancaster III PB436 crashed Gunderup
30/8 1944
Lancaster I LM116 crashed near Karup
30/8 1944
Lancaster III LM479 crashed Dejbjerg
30/8 1944
Back to 1944
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