6 Group Unavailable
The aircraft, piloted by Flight Lieutenant G. Rice DFC, was returning to its base at Coningsby from an abortive attack (marking failed) on the Cockerill Steelworks in Liege, Belgium , when it was attacked at a height of about 14,000 feet by a night fighter. Rice gave the order to bale out, but then the aircraft exploded, killing 5 of the crew, the debris falling to earth near to the village of Merbes-Le-Chateau, Belgium . Rice survived the explosion and his parachute opened without him being aware of it. He was rescued by the Belgian Resistance and was on the run for 4 months before being betrayed in Brussels in April 1944. Apart from Rice, all of the crew were killed.
There were two Canadians in the crew, Warrant Officers Class 2 CB Gowrie and JW Thrasher. All of the other crew members were in the RAF (Flying Officer R MacFarlane and flight Sergeants EC Smith, TW Maynard and S. Burns).
Rice and his crew flew on the Dams Raid of 16/17 May 1943, in Lancaster ED936 (AJ-H) but aborted the sortie when they hit the water of the Ijssel Meer and lost the Upkeep weapon.
