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| Date: | Saturday 23 September 1944 |
| Time: | 23:25 LT |
| Type: |  Avro Lancaster Mk I |
| Owner/operator: | 9 Sqn RAF |
| Registration: | LL901 |
| MSN: | WS-V |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 6 / Occupants: 7 |
| Other fatalities: | 0 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | near the Populierendijk, Holterbroek hamlet, Holten, Overijssel -
 Netherlands
|
| Phase: | Combat |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | Bardney, UK |
Takeoff at 19:02 hrs for a bombing operation against Münster-Handorf airfield in Germany.
Homeward-bound, the aircraft was shot down by night fighter pilot Hauptmann Heinz-Wolfgang Schnaufer of the Stab IV./NJG 1, who was flying a Bf 110 G-4 from Dortmund-Brackel airfield in Germany.
Crew:-
Pilot : Flight Lieutenant Charles Berrie Scott RAFVR 176377 (NCO:1565775 : Commission Gazetted Tuesday 27 June, 1944) [Killed]
Flight Engineer : Sergeant Jack Edward Simkin RAFVR 1448546 [Killed]
Navigator : Flight Sergeant Louis Arthur 'Curly' Harding RAF 574158 [Killed]
Bomb Aimer : Flight Sergeant Leslie W Langley RAF 1394855 [Evaded]
Wireless Operator / Air Gunner : Sergeant Maurice Edward Hayward RAFVR 1602875 [Killed]
Mid-Upper Gunner : Sergeant Frank Alfred Saunders RAFVR 1803522 [Killed]
Rear Gunner : Sergeant Leslie Joseph Hambly RAFVR 3010857 [Killed]
Flight Sergeant "Curly" Harding, born September 1922, was the father of the comedian and singer Mike Harding; his LP "Bombers' Moon" is in memory of his father, who he never knew. He states that his mother, (Eileen or Ellen) maiden name Pyne, was married in December 1943 and was a bride, mother and widow within 12 months. Mike was born in December 1944, Manchester.
In his songbook titled 'Bombers Moon', Harding states that his father was a prewar airman, an apprentice who met and married his mother whilst serving at Bardney. His service number supports this claim. He adds that the crew had finished their tour but volunteered to make up numbers as another crew had gone sick.
Sources:
https://verliesregister.studiegroepluchtoorlog.nl/rs.php?aircraft=&sglo=T4332&date=&location=&pn=&unit=&name=&cemetry=&airforce=&target=&area=&airfield=
Nachtjagd Combat Archive 1944 part four
Google Maps
Air Britain: RAF Aircraft LA100 - LZ999, published 1991
Rob Davis Bomber Command Losses Database
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 17-Dec-2008 11:45 | ASN archive | Added |
| 27-Dec-2011 06:23 | Uli Elch | Updated [Total fatalities, Total occupants, Location, Phase, Departure airport, Source, Narrative, ] |
| 28-Dec-2011 14:38 | Uli Elch | Updated [Aircraft type, ] |
| 24-Mar-2021 17:17 | TigerTimon | Updated [Date, Time, Cn, Operator, Location, Source, Narrative, ] |
| 18-Jan-2025 07:33 | Rob Davis | Updated [Source, Narrative, ] |
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