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| Date: | Monday 3 January 1944 |
| Time: | 02:38 claim |
| Type: |  Avro Lancaster Mk III |
| Owner/operator: | 57 Sqn RAF |
| Registration: | JB681 |
| MSN: | DX-J |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 7 / Occupants: 7 |
| Other fatalities: | 0 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | Luhme, Rheinsberg, Brandenburg -
 Germany
|
| Phase: | Combat |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | RAF East Kirkby, Lincolnshire |
Takeoff at 23:23 hrs for an operation to Berlin.
The aircraft was shot down by night fighter pilot Unteroffizier Walter Rohlfing of the 9./NJG 3 (based at Stade airfield in Niedersachsen), who was flying a Bf 110 G-4.
Crew:-
Pilot : Pilot Officer George Ely RAAF Aus/409677 [Killed]
Flight Engineer : Sergeant Samuel Lewis RAFVR 1583580 [Killed]
Navigator : Flight Sergeant Ronald William Homewood RAFVR 1321438 [Killed]
Bomb Aimer : Flying Officer George Franklyn Nixon RCAF J/24535 [Killed]
Wireless Operator : Sergeant Alex William Charles Ball RAFVR 1438060 [Killed]
Mid-Upper Gunner : Sergeant Anthony Stopher Pilbeam RAFVR 1853897 [Killed]
Rear Gunner : Sergeant Kenneth Horridge Harper RAFVR 1678239 [Killed]
Sergeant Ball is remembered at the Runnymede Memorial, United Kingdom (51.437693 / -0.564745) and the other 6 casualties lie at the Berlin 1939-1945 War Cemetery, Germany (52.507028 / 13.222336).
Curiously, another airmen serving at East Kirby's sister squadron, 630, has the same surname Homewood, and was also killed in January 1944 (Lancaster JB294).
Sources:
Nachtjagd Combat Archive 1944 part one
http://www.aircrewremembered.com/AlliedLossesIncidents/?q=JB681
Rob Davis Bomber Command Losses Database
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 03-Dec-2019 09:24 | TigerTimon | Added |
| 29-Jan-2025 07:44 | Rob Davis | Updated [Source, Narrative, ] |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
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