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| Date: | Wednesday 3 March 1943 |
| Time: | 21:29 |
| Type: |  Avro Lancaster Mk I |
| Owner/operator: | 12 Sqn RAF |
| Registration: | W4855 |
| MSN: | |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 7 / Occupants: 7 |
| Other fatalities: | 0 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | 14 km north of Rothenburg, west of Stade -
 Germany
|
| Phase: | Combat |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | RAF Wickenby |
Shot down by Fw. Wilhelm Kurreck of the 8./NJG 3, flying a Bf 110 from Stade airfield.
Target: Hamburg
Call Sign: PH-D
Takeoff time: 18:58
Crew:-
Pilot : Sergeant Kenneth Rupert William Simmonds RAF 551578 [Killed]
Flight Engineer : Sergeant Laurence Burnett RAF 574662 [Killed]
Navigator : Flight Sergeant Ian Victor Heatley RAAF Aus/405310 [Killed]
Bomb Aimer : Flight Sergeant Donald Kerr RAAF Aus/401646 [Killed]
Wireless Operator : Flight Sergeant Henry Herbert Brien RAAF Aus/411281 [Killed]
Mid-Upper Gunner : Sergeant Roy Victor Malcolm Davenport RAFVR 1386048 [Killed]
Rear Gunner : Flight Sergeant Archibald John Marfell RAAF Aus/400677 [Killed]
All lie at the Becklingen War Cemetery, Germany (52.890363 / 9.916912)
Ian Heatley was one of Don Charlwood's "Twenty Men" as described in 'No Moon Tonight' and 'Journeys Into Night'.
Sources:
Nachtjagd Combat Archive Part One by Theo Boiten
https://backtonormandy.org/the-history/air-force-operations/airplanes-allies-and-axis-lost/lancaster/26933-W48551943-03-04.html
http://ww2talk.com/index.php?threads/in-memoriam-those-air-force-pilots-crews-who-died-on-this-day-in-ww2.18267/page-48
Rob Davis Bomber Command Losses Database
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 01-Mar-2018 21:06 | TigerTimon | Added |
| 01-Mar-2018 21:09 | TigerTimon | Updated [Total fatalities, Total occupants, Source, Narrative, ] |
| 19-Oct-2018 18:38 | Nepa | Updated [Operator, Operator, ] |
| 03-Jan-2025 07:50 | Rob Davis | Updated [Source, Narrative, ] |
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