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| Date: | Saturday 31 July 1943 |
| Time: | 01:29 |
| Type: |  Short Stirling Mk III |
| Owner/operator: | 15 Sqn RAF |
| Registration: | EF427 |
| MSN: | LS-A |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 4 / Occupants: 7 |
| Other fatalities: | 0 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | 4 km north of Manheim, Nordrhein-Westfalen -
 Germany
|
| Phase: | Combat |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | RAF Mildenhall |
Hit by heavy Flak.
Takeoff time: 22:42
Crew:-
Pilot : Flying Officer George Gordon Judd RAFVR 119300 [Killed] (NCO:922910 Commission Gazetted : Tuesday 02 June, 1942)
Flight Engineer : Sergeant Leyton Charles Richards RAF 1538132 [PoW]
Navigator : Sergeant Dennis Brown RAFVR 1125561 [Killed]
Bomb Aimer : Sergeant Sydney Robert Long RAFVR 916450 [Killed]
Wireless Operator : Sergeant William Alfred Wells RAFVR 624682 [Killed]
Mid-Upper Gunner : Sergeant Douglas Robert Fry RAF 1812146 [PoW]
Rear Gunner : Pilot Officer Kenneth Arthur Banks RCAF J/22091 [PoW]
Twelve aircraft from No. XV Squadron, RAF were detailed to attack Remscheid in Germany and this aircraft was one of two from the squadron that failed to return.
Those killed have no known grave and are commemorated on the Commonwealth War Graves Commission's Air Forces Memorial at Runnymede.
Sergeant Wells is also commemorated on a family memorial in North Sheen Cemetery, Richmond, England. See source 5.
Please note that the crash site is located near MANHEIM a village 15km west of Köln, Germany and not the city of MANNHEIM as stated in some sources.
Sources:
1. Nachtjagd Combat Archive 1943 part two
2. http://www.aircrewremembered.com/AlliedLossesIncidents/?q=EF427
3. https://sas.raf38group.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=339
4. https://losses.internationalbcc.co.uk/loss/229896/
5. https://www.iwm.org.uk/memorials/item/memorial/78540
6. Rob Davis Bomber Command Losses Database
7. https://www.spiegel.de/wissenschaft/titz-archaeologen-graben-truemmer-eines-britischen-weltkriegsbombers-aus-a-2dd6db57-3641-4aa2-8a8c-e2a7b76e339f
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 30-Jul-2018 20:46 | TigerTimon | Added |
| 06-Nov-2018 20:12 | Nepa | Updated [Operator, Destination airport, Operator, ] |
| 30-Jul-2023 06:51 | Rob Davis | Updated |
| 20-Aug-2025 15:36 | Tetrapack | Updated [Location, Source, Narrative, ] |
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