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| Date: | Monday 5 October 1942 |
| Time: | 21:40 |
| Type: |  Vickers Wellington Mk III |
| Owner/operator: | 156 Sqn RAF |
| Registration: | BJ646 |
| MSN: | GT-P |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 6 |
| Other fatalities: | 0 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | RAF Manston, Kent, England -
 United Kingdom
|
| Phase: | Landing |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | RAF Warboys, Cambridgeshire |
| RAF Manston, Kent |
Target: Aachen, Germany. Aircraft took off at 19:05 hours. Aircraft was struck by lightning (electrical storms) whilst crossing the French coast at 20:45 hours on the outbound leg of the raid. Port engine stopped, aircraft jettisoned flares and turned for home. Further damage sustained by AAA (flak) over the French coast after aircraft lost height
All of the crew except for the pilot bailed out. Unable to leave the aircraft, pilot Flt Lt Greenup headed for RAF Manston in Kent, where he brought Wellington BJ646 down for a successful belly landing
Of the other five crew, 4 were taken as PoWs, and one - Flt Sgt C W Austin - was killed: on 20 October 1942 his body was washed up on the shore at Zoutelande.
Call Sign: GT-
Crew:-
Pilot : Flight Lieutenant Douglas Ronald Greenup RAF 46221 (NCO:517721 : Commission Gazetted Friday 22 August, 1941)
Air Gunner : Flight Sergeant Charles Wendell Austin RCAF R/82683 [Killed]
Pilot Officer William Douglas RAF 108832 (NCO:997914 : Commission Gazetted Tuesday 25 November, 1941) [PoW]
Pilot Officer Frederick Purvis RAF 118180 [PoW]
Pilot Officer Thomas Elphage Trotman RAF 123151 (NCO:1286507 : Commission Gazetted Tuesday 04 August, 1942) [PoW]
Warrant Officer Victor Percival Youdell RAF 1383748 [PoW]
Flight Sergeant Austin lies at the Flushing (Vlissingen) Northern Cemetery, Netherlands (51.453933 / 3.581271)
Sources:
http://verliesregister.studiegroepluchtoorlog.nl/item2.php?SGLO=T1868A
http://www.156squadron.com/display_missionhdr.asp?MissionId=170
http://www.156squadron.com/display_missiondet.asp?pMissionId=170&pAircraftId=904
http://wingstovictory.nl/database/database_detail.php?wtv_id=644
Rob Davis Bomber Command Losses Database
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 17-Dec-2008 11:45 | ASN archive | Added |
| 09-Mar-2013 23:38 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Time, Operator, Total fatalities, Total occupants, Other fatalities, Location, Country, Phase, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative, ] |
| 04-Apr-2013 14:21 | Nepa | Updated [Aircraft type, Operator, Location, Destination airport, ] |
| 05-Oct-2017 20:18 | TigerTimon | Updated [Time, Operator, Source, Narrative, ] |
| 03-Nov-2018 09:55 | Nepa | Updated [Operator, Operator, ] |
| 26-Oct-2020 20:25 | TigerTimon | Updated [Cn, Other fatalities, ] |
| 19-Jul-2021 18:29 | Anon. | Updated [Location, Operator, ] |
| 14-Sep-2021 15:39 | Rob Davis | Updated [Narrative, ] |
| 18-Jan-2022 11:44 | Rob Davis | Updated [Narrative, ] |
| 29-Sep-2022 06:52 | TigerTimon | Updated [Narrative, ] |
| 05-Oct-2023 06:59 | Rob Davis | Updated |
| 13-Aug-2024 06:55 | Rob Davis | Updated [Narrative, ] |
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