Date:	Thursday 22 June 1944
Time:	01:22 claim
Type:	Avro Lancaster Mk III
Owner/operator:	44 (Rhodesia) Sqn RAF
Registration:	ND973
MSN:	KM-A
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 7 / Occupants: 7
Other fatalities:	0
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	between Melick and Herkenbosch; Limburg -   Netherlands
Phase:	Combat
Nature:	Military
Departure airport:	RAF Dunholme Lodge
Destination airport:

Narrative:
Took off from RAF Dunholme Lodge at 23:13 hrs for a bombing operation against the synthetic oil plant at Wesseling in Germany.

Outward-bound, the aircraft was caught by the night fighter crew of Oberleutnant Lau, Unteroffizier Backhaus & Gefreiter Reinecke in a Bf 110 G-4 of 4./NJG 1, who had taken off from Deelen airfield. Gefreiter Reinecke noted in his combat report:

"In attacking the second aircraft our pilot noticed that our guns had jammed in our first encounter and no longer worked. A further enemy was seen and he ordered me to open fire on it with my guns. A few minutes later I was in position and opened fire but without noticing any effect. However, after two bursts I saw flames in the starboard wing and the plane veered over to port. I watched it crash at 01.22 hrs”.

Funeral services for the crew were conducted at Herkenbosch General Cemetery, but since 1945 their remains have been removed to the Jonkerbos War Cemetery, Netherlands (51.822371 / 5.830618)

Crew:-
Pilot : Pilot Officer George Baxter RAFVR 175006 (NCO:1367113 : Commission Gazetted Tuesday 30 May, 1944) [Killed]
Flight Engineer : Sergeant David Betterton RAFVR 926074 [Killed]
Navigator : Pilot Officer Bruce Alexander Mackenzie Rutherford RCAF J/87872 [Killed]
Bomb Aimer : Pilot Officer Samuel Young RCAF J/87873 [Killed]
Wireless Operator : Warrant Officer Kenneth Scholes RAF 631611 [Killed]
Mid-Upper Gunner : Flight Sergeant Donald Allan Taylor RCAF R/191422 [Killed]
Rear Gunner : Sergeant Duncan Robert Roland Lewi Whitfield RAFVR 1851249 [Killed]

Nachtjagd Combat Archive 1944 part three
https://verliesregister.studiegroepluchtoorlog.nl/rs.php?aircraft=&sglo=T3832&date=&location=&pn=&unit=&name=&cemetry=&airforce=&target=&area=&airfield=
Google Maps
Royal Air Force Bomber Command Losses of the Second World War 1944 Page 291.
http://en.tracesofwar.com/bio/70416/Baxter-George.htm
Rob Davis Bomber Command Losses Database http://robdavistelford.co.uk/webspace/raf_bc

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
17-Dec-2008 11:45	ASN archive	Added
21-Jun-2016 09:49	Red Dragon	Updated [Cn, Operator, Total fatalities, Total occupants, Location, Phase, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative, ]
30-Oct-2018 04:41	Nepa	Updated [Operator, Destination airport, Operator, ]
14-Oct-2020 17:01	TigerTimon	Updated [Time, Location, Source, Narrative, ]
02-Jul-2025 06:39	Rob Davis	Updated [Source, Narrative, ]