Accident Avro Lancaster Mk III ED865, Monday 17 May 1943
ASN logo
 
This information is added by users of ASN. Neither ASN nor the Flight Safety Foundation are responsible for the completeness or correctness of this information. You can contribute by submitting additional or updated information.

Date:Monday 17 May 1943
Time:01:53
Type:Silhouette image of generic LANC model; specific model in this crash may look slightly different    
Avro Lancaster Mk III
Owner/operator:617 (Dambusters) Sqn RAF
Registration: ED865
MSN:
Fatalities:Fatalities: 7 / Occupants: 7
Other fatalities:0
Aircraft damage: Destroyed
Location:Gilze-Rijen Airfield, Noord-Brabant -   Netherlands
Phase: En route
Nature:Military
Departure airport:RAF Scampton
Destination airport:RAF Scampton
Narrative:
On its way to the Sorpe Dam in the Dams Raid, ED865 was shot down by Flak (light Flak of the 5./gemischte Flak-Abteilung 442 and the 3./leichte Flak-Abteilung 848).

Crew:-
Pilot : Pilot Officer Lewis Johnstone Burpee DFM RCAF J/17115 (NCO:R/82285) [Killed]
Flight Engineer : Sergeant Guy Pegler RAF 573474 [Killed]
Navigator : Sergeant Thomas Jaye RAFVR 1299446 [Killed]
Bomb Aimer : Warrant Officer Class II James Lamb Arthur RCAF R/119416 [Killed]
Wireless Operator / Air Gunner : Pilot Officer Leonard George Weller RAFVR 142507 (NCO:1376022 : Commission Gazetted Tuesday 04 May, 1943) [Killed]
Front Gunner : Sergeant William Charles Arthur Long RAFVR 1600540 [Killed]
Rear Gunner : Warrant Officer Class II Joseph Gordon Brady RCAF R/93554 [Killed]

The seven crew members are buried at the Bergen op Zoom cemetery.

Call Sign: AJ-S
Takeoff time: 00:11

Sources:

https://verliesregister.studiegroepluchtoorlog.nl/rs.php?aircraft=&sglo=T2331&date=&location=&pn=&unit=&name=&cemetry=&airforce=&target=&area=&airfield=
Nachtjagd Combat Archive 1943 Part One
Rob Davis Bomber Command Losses Database

Revision history:

Date/timeContributorUpdates
17-Dec-2008 11:45 ASN archive Added
02-Mar-2009 21:03 VH-KDK Updated
01-May-2010 23:10 angels one five Updated [Operator, Narrative, ]
16-Feb-2012 00:39 Nepa Updated [Time, Aircraft type, Operator, ]
16-May-2018 06:56 TigerTimon Updated [Time, Operator, Other fatalities, Location, Source, Narrative, ]
09-Oct-2018 17:56 Nepa Updated [Operator, Operator, ]
16-Jun-2022 05:16 Ron Averes Updated [Location, ]
14-May-2024 06:45 Rob Davis Updated [Source, Narrative, ]

Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description

The Aviation Safety Network is an exclusive service provided by:
Quick Links:

CONNECT WITH US: FSF on social media FSF Facebook FSF Twitter FSF Youtube FSF LinkedIn FSF Instagram

©2025 Flight Safety Foundation

1920 Ballenger Av, 4th Fl.
Alexandria, Virginia 22314
www.FlightSafety.org