ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 200952
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| Date: | Friday 24 July 1942 |
| Time: | night |
| Type: |  Avro Lancaster Mk I |
| Owner/operator: | 207 Sqn RAF |
| Registration: | R5867 |
| MSN: | EM-T |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 7 / Occupants: 7 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | Anrath, Willich, Nordrhein-Westfalen -
 Germany
|
| Phase: | Combat |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | RAF Bottesford, Leicesershire |
| operation - Duisburg |
The aircraft was shot down by anti-aircraft fire near Krefeld, which is where the crew were initially buried. The claim was made by two flak batteries: 3rd of the 394 Heavy Flak Battalion and 1st of 447 Heavy Flak Battalion. Both units were part of the 64th Flak Regiment, located at Baerl, which formed part of “Flakgruppe Duisburg”, of the 4th Air Defence Command.
This aircraft came down (at 2.30am) around 400 yards from where I now live in the village of Anrath, 8 miles from Krefeld
It came down between to farms near the main road leading out of the village. I spoke with some of the older folk who were there at the time. At the time of the crash a bomb exploded which killed a russian forced labourer who'd been sheltering in the roadside ditch. Apparently only 2 crew members were found on site
The Squadron was having recent difficulties obtaining successful photographs of bombing mission damage as it occurred. This meant an aircraft bombing at a lower altitude allowing the on-board camera to take a clearer photograph after the aircraft dropped its bombs. On the night of July 21, 1942 this same crew decided to bomb at 11,000 feet instead of the order to bomb at 18,000 feet in order to get a better photograph of the bomb damage. As detailed in the Squadron Operational Records, the weather was good as was the visibility. This was highly successful and an excellent photograph was obtained. However, on the night of July 24, this crew was then ‘encouraged’ by superiors to bomb low once again to allow for a better photograph. As the Squadron’s Operational Records show, visibility was very poor that night, so the crew decided to bomb at 6,000 feet this time in order to get an even better picture. This proved to be a fatal decision as it cost the entire crew their lives.
Pilot:NZ/401470 Plt Off John Justin Neville McCarthy RNZAF - Reichswald Forest War Cemetery 28-D-8
Pilot:R/77173 Flt Sgt Joseph Daniel Leo La Salle RCAF - Reichswald Forest War Cemetery 28-D-7
Observer:1260393 Flt Sgt Ronald Alfred Edmonds - Reichswald Forest War Cemetery 28-D-10
Observer:982476 Flt Sgt John Michael Leahy - Reichswald Forest War Cemetery 28-D-9
Wireless Operator/Air Gunner:646781 Arthur Rowland - Reichswald Forest War Cemetery 28-D-6
Wireless Operator/Air Gunner:759163 Sgt Denis Leonard Worthington - Reichswald Forest War Cemetery 28-D-12
Air Gunner:126810 Plt Off Eric Lionel Hayward - Reichswald Forest War Cemetery 28-D-11 (NCO:1380477 Commission Gazetted : Tuesday 18 August, 1942)
Sources:
www.aircrewremembered.com
CWGC
Google Maps
Dwight Blok, London, Ontario, Canada
Rob Davis Bomber Command Losses Database
History of this aircraft
Other occurrences involving this aircraft
| 6 August 1942 | R5761 | 207 Sqn RAF | 7 | near the church at Megen, Noord-Brabant |  |
w/o |
| Ditching | ||||||
| 2 January 1944 | W4892 | 207 Sqn RAF | 8 | near Daimler-Benz factory at Genshagen, Ludwigsfelde, Brandenburg | |
w/o |
| 11 November 1944 | PB428 | 207 Sqn RAF | 7 | Bratoft, near Skegness, Lincolnshire, England |  |
w/o |
| 22 February 1945 | PB814 | 207 Sqn RAF | 6 | Missing | |
w/o |
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 05-Nov-2017 16:58 | w.bleumink | Added |
| 18-Feb-2018 21:25 | Red Dragon | Updated [Cn, Operator, Other fatalities, Phase, Source, Narrative] |
| 22-Oct-2018 18:26 | Anon. | Updated [Source, Narrative] |
| 01-Nov-2018 09:07 | Nepa | Updated [Operator, Departure airport, Destination airport, Operator] |
| 08-Feb-2019 14:10 | paul | Updated [Narrative, Photo] |
| 07-May-2020 18:45 | TigerTimon | Updated [Time, Other fatalities, Location, Phase, Destination airport, Source] |
| 23-Jul-2023 07:03 | Rob Davis | Updated [[Time, Other fatalities, Location, Phase, Destination airport, Source]] |
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