Accident Avro Lancaster Mk III ED415, Thursday 23 September 1943
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Date:Thursday 23 September 1943
Time:22:48 LT
Type:Silhouette image of generic LANC model; specific model in this crash may look slightly different    
Avro Lancaster Mk III
Owner/operator:50 Sqn RAF
Registration: ED415
MSN: VN-N
Fatalities:Fatalities: 7 / Occupants: 7
Other fatalities:0
Aircraft damage: Destroyed
Location:BASF works at Ludwigshafen am Rhein, Rheinland-Pfalz -   Germany
Phase: Combat
Nature:Military
Departure airport:RAF Skellingthorpe, Lincolnshire
Destination airport:
Narrative:
Takeoff at 19:07 hrs (local time) for an operation against Mannheim in Baden-Württemberg.

Shot down by night fighter (Lt Bock, III/NJG1) over Ludwigshafen and crashed onto the BASF works.

Crew:-
Pilot : Pilot Officer Wallace Cyril Nelson RAAF Aus/415088 [Killed]
Flight Engineer : Sergeant John Bruce Atkinson RAFVR 1052661 [Killed]
Navigator : Flight Sergeant Victor Alfred Darkin RAFVR 1389500 [Killed]
Bomb Aimer : Sergeant John Edward Shepherd RAFVR 1321126 [Killed]
Wireless Operator / Air Gunner : Sergeant Robert Edward Morley RAFVR 1322146 [Killed]
Mid-Upper Gunner : Sergeant William Albert Heal RAFVR 909074 [Killed]
Rear Gunner : Sergeant Leon Mcneill Jeffery RAFVR 1300036 [Killed]

All seven crew members rest in the Durnbach War Cemetery, Germany (47.778371 / 11.733537)

Sources:

Nachtjagd Combat Archive 1943 part three
http://www.aircrewremembered.com/AlliedLossesIncidents/?q=ED415&qand=&exc1=&exc2=&search_only=&search_type=exact
Google Maps
Rob Davis Bomber Command Losses Database

Revision history:

Date/timeContributorUpdates
26-Jun-2021 08:10 TigerTimon Added
26-Jun-2021 14:33 TigerTimon Updated [Location, ]
29-Dec-2024 07:31 Rob Davis Updated [Source, Narrative, ]
29-Dec-2024 07:32 Rob Davis Updated [Narrative, ]

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