Date:	Thursday 12 April 1945
Time:	14:00 LT
Type:	Avro Lancaster Mk I
Owner/operator:	622 Squadron, RAF
Registration:	PA285
MSN:	GI-O
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 6 / Occupants: 7
Other fatalities:	0
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	Burgweinting-Harting, South East of Regensburg (Bayern) -   Germany
Phase:	En route
Nature:	Military
Departure airport:	RAF Mildenhall, Suffolk
Destination airport:

Narrative:
Avro Lancaster B.Mk.I PA285/GI-O, 622 Squadron, RAF Mildenhall, Suffolk. Lost on "ops" on 20 April 1945 (Target: Regensburg, Bayern, Germany).

On the 20th April 1945, Lancaster PA285/GI-O crashed on a raid to attack the oil storage depot at Regensburg. 2nd Lt Gustav Dietrichson RNAF was the navigator on board. One hundred Lancasters all from No.3 Group were sent to the target, only PA285 was lost due to a direct flak hit.

The crew took off at 09:57 hours from R.A.F. Mildenhall along with 6 other crews from No.622 Squadron on a daylight operation. Shortly after dropping their bombs the crew’s Lancaster was hit by flak forcing the crew to bail out. Only Victor and the rear gunner, Sgt E. Parker was able to get out in time. Unfortunately, Victor parachuted into high tension cables and was killed. Sgt Parker was badly injured on landing and spent the rest of the war in a German hospital until liberation.

The rear gunner in another crew described what happened:
"The mid-upper gunner called out that the Leader (PA285) had been hit by flak and the starboard outer motor was detached from his aircraft with the prop still rotating and flying along with us. Our bomb aimer was down in his position at the front of the aircraft waiting to release our bombs, as he did the aircraft lifted itself after losing the weight of the bombs, I was searching the sky to our Port beam and low when I saw our Flight Leader aircraft ‘O’ for Orange, sliding out from under our aircraft, the Port wing was pointing down as they started to dive, I saw the rear gunner’s right hand appear as he started to open the doors on his rear turret. The aircraft went straight down, at about 6.000 feet they pulled out of the dive, hung there for a few seconds, then did a very slow roll over to starboard with flames coming from where the outer motor used to be. They crashed into the houses or buildings that ran alongside the river, the buildings looked to be 3 or 4 stories high."

Twenty-three-year-old 2nd Lt Gustav Dietrichson was born on 2nd May 1921 and he was the son of a well-known Norwegian Naval Air Force pilot (Lief Dietrichson). In 1928 he was one of Roald Amundsen’s crew members on the French flying boat ‘Latham’, searching for the Italian explorer Umberto Nobile in the Arctic Ocean. ‘Latham’ disappeared en-route to Spitsbergen, and was never heard of again.

The other crew members who perished were: (pilot) Flt Lt V.S. Robbins (bomb aimer) F/O B.F. Scott RNZAF, (wireless operator) F/O H.A. Smith (mid upper gunner) Flt Sgt J.E. Hulland (flight engineer) Sgt R.W. Reid. The rear gunner (and sole survivor) Sgt E. Parker was taken POW.

According to the following excerpt from the Squadron ORB (Operational Record Book):

"Operational Flying: BOMBING – REGENSBURG.
20 aircraft detailed, 20 aircraft took off, 19 aircraft attacked primary
target, dropping 293 x 500 ANM 64 and 8 blue smoke puffs between 13:55½ and 14:07 hours from 18,500 to 19,500 ft. One aircraft of 514 Sqn (J2) brought back 16 x 500 ANM 64 which hung up after every effort to release after orbiting. 10 aircraft detailed to bomb on GH. 6 bombed on GH and 3 on GH leaders. 10 aircraft bombed visually. Weather was clear over target and whole route. GH runs were good. Bombing concentrated, but appears to have overshot and undershot, in effect straddling target. Fires and smoke seen. Railway bridge seen hit.

Large fire and column of smoke 10-15 miles east of target, and another 10-15 miles south west. Flak was nil increasing to slight. No enemy fighters seen. One aircraft seen shot down at 14.00hrs (Lancaster I PA285, GI-O of 622 Sqn was the only aircraft lost on this raid). All 514 Squadron aircraft landed".

Crew of Lancaster PA285
Pilot - Flight Lieutenant Victor Stanley Robbins, RAFVR (Service Number: 136689, aged 28) (NCO:656701 Commission Gazetted: Tuesday 26 January, 1943)
Air Bomber - Flying Officer Bruce Frederic Scott, RNZAF (Service Number: 421536, aged 22)
Mid Upper Gunner - Flight Sgt John Edward Hulland RAF (Service Number: 1410959, aged 22)
Flight Engineer - Sgt Richard Wallace Reid RAF (Service Number: 1826182, aged 21)
Wireless Operator - Flying Officer Hubert Abram Smith RAF (Service Number: 175274) (NCO:1295411 Commission Gazetted: Tuesday 06 June, 1944)
Navigator - 2nd Lt Gustav Dietrichson, Royal Norwegian Air Force (Service Number Royal Norwegian Air Force 5781, aged 23)
Rear Gunner - Flight Sgt E Parker, RAF - sole survivor, taken as PoW, repatriated 12-5-1945

All six crew fatalities were buried in a collective grave at Durnbach War Cemetery. Bayern, Germany. Plot 5. G. 21.

1. Air-Britain Royal Air Force Aircraft PA100-RZ999
2. Notes taken from Mrs Hazel Hunting (née Back), the cousin of John Edward Hulland. And compiled by her neighbour, Ian Johnson
3. Rob Davis Bomber Command Losses Database
4. The Lancaster File (James J Halley, Air Britain, 1985)
5. 622 Squadron: Record of Events (Operational Record Book) for April 1945: National Archives (PRO Kew) File AIR 27/2139/8 at https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/D8417328
6. Aircraft Movement Card (Air Ministry Form AM.78): https://lancasterbombersinfo.ipage.com/Data/Form-78s/Lancaster/PB238-PB305/mobile/index.html
7. Aircraft Accident Record Card (Air Ministry Form AM.1180): https://lancasterbombersinfo.ipage.com/Data/Form-1180/Lancaster/1945/April/prt2/2.html
8. https://www.ancestry.co.uk/family-tree/person/tree/165318936/person/322151111073/facts
9. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No._622_Squadron_RAuxAF#World_War_II
10. https://www.bishopsteigntonheritage.co.uk/people/john-edward-hulland/#section2
11. https://en-gb.facebook.com/514SquadronRaf/posts/3844273938960741
12. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/134975246/gustav-dietrichson
13. CWGC: https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/2102962/victor-stanley-robbins/
14. CWGC: https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/7514831/gustav-dietrichson/
15. CWGC: https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/2103052/bruce-fredric-scott/
16. CWGC: https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/2101954/john-edward-hulland/
17. CWGC: https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/2102917/richard-wallace-reid/
18. CWGC: https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/2103157/hubert-abram-smith/
19. https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burgweinting-Harting

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
18-Aug-2013 03:11	JINX	Added
28-Oct-2014 15:58	Paix	Updated [Aircraft type, Operator, ]
28-Oct-2019 15:31	Uli Elch	Updated [Operator, Location, ]
01-Nov-2019 20:10	Anon.	Updated [Operator, Operator, ]
17-Jun-2021 22:09	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Date, Time, Cn, Total fatalities, Total occupants, Other fatalities, Location, Departure airport, Source, Narrative, ]
17-Jun-2021 22:10	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Narrative, ]
05-Aug-2022 06:01	Shack832	Updated [Total fatalities, Total occupants, Country, Source, Narrative, ]
23-Jan-2025 21:04	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Operator, Location, Country, Source, Embed code, Narrative, Category, ]
23-Jan-2025 21:24	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Source, Narrative, Category, ]
23-Jan-2025 21:27	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Time, Narrative, Category, ]