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| Date: | Saturday 23 September 1944 |
| Time: | |
| Type: |  Avro Lancaster Mk III |
| Owner/operator: | 582 Sqn RAF |
| Registration: | PB512 |
| MSN: | |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 7 / Occupants: 7 |
| Other fatalities: | 0 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | 4 miles east of RAF North Weald, Essex, England -
 United Kingdom
|
| Phase: | Manoeuvring (airshow, firefighting, ag.ops.) |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | |
For a fighter affiliation exercise. Reported to have lost control whilst making a diving turn at 8,000 feet and dived into the ground at 11:32, 4 miles east from North Weald aerodrome. All buried in various UK cemeteries, four being taken to Brookwood Military Cemetery.
Crew:-
Pilot : Flying Officer William Lawrence Shirley RNZAF NZ/424529 [Killed]
Flight Engineer : Sergeant Desmond Charles Evans RAFVR 1836534 [Killed]
Navigator : Flying Officer Frank David Hill RAFVR 132036 (NCO:1576801 : Commission Gazetted Friday 18 December, 1942) [Killed]
Bomb Aimer : Flight Sergeant Duncan Lewis Thomas Smith RAFVR 1389708 [Killed]
Wireless Operator : Flying Officer George John Burch RAFVR 159512 (NCO:1453520 : Commission Gazetted Tuesday 30 November, 1943) [Killed]
Mid-Upper Gunner : Flight Sergeant Colin James Mitchell RAAF Aus/417981 [Killed]
Rear Gunner : Leading Aircraftman William Arthur George Alston RAFVR 1509278 [Killed]
LAC Alston's unusually low rank is confirmed by the CWGC data. Maybe he was an armourer, just standing around at takeoff time and filled a suddenly empty place in the aircraft?
Sources:
Air-Britain Royal Air Force Aircraft PA100-RZ999
Rob Davis Bomber Command Losses Database http://robdavistelford.co.uk/webspace/raf_bc
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 26-Aug-2013 05:20 | JINX | Added |
| 27-Aug-2013 08:39 | Anon. | Updated [Aircraft type, Operator, Source, ] |
| 27-Aug-2013 14:32 | JINX | Updated [Date, Aircraft type, Registration, Operator, Location, Country, Phase, Source, Narrative, ] |
| 09-Nov-2018 17:33 | Nepa | Updated [Operator, Operator, ] |
| 01-May-2023 18:52 | Nepa | Updated |
| 21-Apr-2025 06:26 | Rob Davis | Updated [Total fatalities, Total occupants, Source, Narrative, ] |
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