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| Date: | Friday 26 February 1943 |
| Time: | 22:30 |
| Type: |  Vickers Wellington Mk III |
| Owner/operator: | 427 (Lion) Sqn RCAF |
| Registration: | BJ886 |
| MSN: | ZL-F |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 6 / Occupants: 6 |
| Other fatalities: | 0 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | Vleut SW of St Oedenrode, Noord-Brabant -
 Netherlands
|
| Phase: | Combat |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | RAF Croft |
| Koln |
Took off from RAF Croft at 18:49.
Claim by Ofw Fritz Kause 3/NJG1 - 3km West of St Oedenrode, North of Eindhoven (5B): 4,900m at 22:30.
Crashed at Vleut South West of St. Oedenrode.
Sgt Leach was initially buried in Eindhoven (Woensel) General Cemetery. He was reinterred on 21 November 1945.
Crew
Pilot: 656219 Sgt William Edward Harwood - Eindhoven (Woensel) General Cemetery Plot JJB Grave 23.
Navigator: J/18375 Plt Off Oliver Henry Skelton RCAF - Groesbeek War Cemetery Plot XVI Row D Grave 10.
1162703 Sgt Harold Jack Steel - Eindhoven (Woensel) General Cemetery Plot JJB Grave 27.
Wireless Operator: R/113431 Flt Sgt Theo Curtis Smith RCAF - Groesbeek War Cemetery Plot XVI Row D Grave 8.
1333385 Sgt Vivian Max Caplin - Eindhoven (Woensel) General Cemetery Plot JJB Grave 26.
Air Gunner: R/79419 Sgt Charles Francis Leach (USA) RCAF - Newton (Calvary) Cemetery Boston, Massachusetts, USA Lot 1080 Grave 6.
Sources:
https://verliesregister.studiegroepluchtoorlog.nl/rs.php?aircraft=&sglo=T2070&date=&location=&pn=&unit=&name=&cemetry=&airforce=&target=&area=&airfield=
Nachtjagd Combat Archive 1943 Part One by Theo Boiten
CWGC
Bomber Command Losses 1943 - W R Chorley
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 17-Dec-2008 11:45 | ASN archive | Added |
| 06-Nov-2017 07:28 | Laurent Rizzotti | Updated [Aircraft type, ] |
| 24-Feb-2018 18:25 | TigerTimon | Updated [Time, Operator, Total fatalities, Total occupants, Other fatalities, Location, Phase, Departure airport, Source, Narrative, ] |
| 11-Oct-2018 19:35 | Nepa | Updated [Operator, Operator, ] |
| 22-Jun-2022 15:06 | Ron Averes | Updated [Location, ] |
| 01-Jul-2024 14:23 | Rob Davis | Updated [Source, Narrative, ] |
| 05-May-2025 13:29 | Anon. | Updated [Cn, Destination airport, Source, Narrative, ] |
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