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| Date: | Tuesday 23 May 1944 |
| Time: | 00:40 LT |
| Type: |  Avro Lancaster Mk III |
| Owner/operator: | 9 Sqn RAF |
| Registration: | LM519 |
| MSN: | WS-N |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 6 / Occupants: 7 |
| Other fatalities: | 0 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | Gersten, Niedersachsen -
 Germany
|
| Phase: | Combat |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | RAF Bardney, Lincolnshire |
At 00:40 hrs, 9 Squadron Lancaster LM519 went down at Gersten. It had taken off at 22:42 hrs for an operation against Braunschweig in Niedersachsen.
The aircraft was claimed shot down by Oberleutnant Dietrich Schmidt of the 8./NJG 1 (takeoff at 23:48 hrs from Leeuwarden airfield in Bf 110 G-4 G9+AS) and by Oberleutnant Werner Rapp of the 5./NJG 5 (takeoff at 23:31 hrs from Twente airfield in Bf 110 G-4 C9+AN). This was credited as his 24thvictory.
Crew:-
Pilot : Pilot Officer Leslie Jack Baker RAFVR 174632 (NCO:174632 : Commission Gazetted Tuesday 23 May, 1944) [Killed]
Flight Engineer : Pilot Officer Eric James Brittain RAFVR 188990 (NCO:1186747 : Commission Gazetted Tuesday 06 February, 1945) [Killed]
Navigator : Sergeant William Edgar Stephenson RAF 1580892 [PoW]
Bomb Aimer : Flying Officer Joseph McKee RAFVR 151850 (NCO:1493960 : Commission Gazetted Sunday 08 August, 1943) [Killed]
Wireless Operator / Air Gunner : Sergeant Richard William England RAFVR 1602359 [Killed]
Mid-Upper Gunner : Sergeant George Gow RCAF R/210039 [Killed]
Rear Gunner : Sergeant Norman Reginald Pike RAFVR 1606158 [Killed]
Those who did not survive rest in the Reichswald Forest War Cemetery.
Sources:
Nachtjagd Combat Archive 1944 part three
http://www.aircrewremembered.com/AlliedLossesIncidents/?q=LM519
Google Maps
Theo Boiten: Nachtjagd 1944 Part 3, p. 019
Rob Davis Bomber Command Losses Database
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 20-Aug-2020 19:22 | TigerTimon | Added |
| 20-Aug-2020 19:22 | TigerTimon | Updated [Narrative, ] |
| 09-May-2023 05:01 | Anon. | Updated |
| 17-May-2024 12:18 | Rob Davis | Updated [Source, Narrative, ] |
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