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| Date: | Tuesday 15 February 1944 |
| Time: | 19:57 |
| Type: |  Avro Lancaster Mk III |
| Owner/operator: | 97 (The Straits Settlements) Sqn RAF |
| Registration: | ND478 |
| MSN: | OF-Q |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 5 / Occupants: 7 |
| Other fatalities: | 0 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | Mmeadow 150 metres south of Faaborg hospital, Syddanmark -
 Denmark
|
| Phase: | Combat |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | RAF Bourn, Cambridgeshire |
Takeoff at 17:05 hrs for an operation to Berlin.
Outward-bound, the aircraft was shot down by night fighter pilot Hauptmann Erhard Peters of the 9./NJG 3 (based at Stade airfield in Germany), who was flying a Bf 110 G-4.
The Lanc exploded in mid-air. Five crew members did not survive.
Crew:-
Pilot : Pilot Officer James Faulds McLean RAF 155775 (NCO:996584 : Commission Gazetted Tuesday 05 October, 1943) [PoW, repatriated]
Flight Engineer : Sergeant William Dennis French RAF 632441 [Killed]
Navigator : Sergeant Arthur Pestell RAFVR 1578440 [Killed]
Bomb Aimer : Flying Officer Leslie Stevens RCAF J/22843 [PoW]
Wireless Operator : Sergeant Walter Edward Brown RAFVR 1389618 [Killed]
Mid-Upper Gunner : Sergeant Ralph Terence Charles RAFVR 1874041 [Killed]
Rear Gunner : Flight Sergeant Robert Daniel Murdoch RAAF Aus/418545 [Killed]
The bodies of Sgts Brown, Charles, French and Pestell were found with the fuselage and were laid in white painted coffins. They were laid to rest in Faaborg cemetery by the Wehrmacht without ecclesiastical assistance on the morning of 18/2 1944.
Sources:
http://www.flensted.eu.com/1944015.shtml
Google Maps
Rob Davis Bomber Command Losses Database
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 13-Jan-2017 13:46 | gerard57 | Added |
| 23-Dec-2019 18:54 | TigerTimon | Updated [Cn, Operator, Other fatalities, Location, Departure airport, Source, Narrative, ] |
| 15-Feb-2024 07:52 | Rob Davis | Updated [Location, Source, Narrative, ] |
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