H A Rainbird Rank: First Lieutenant Status: Prisoner of War 1943-10-22

Took off from Grimsby at 18:33 in Lancaster Mk III (Sqn code: HW-J2 Bomber Command).

Crashed at 20:55 at Lavenforde on the East bank of the Weser River opposite Beverungen.

Killed: Flight Sergeant Hilton George Brownjohn RAF pilot KIA Hanover War Cemetery Collective grave 16. G. 10-14. Sergeant Arthur William Franklin RAF KIA Hanover War Cemetery grave 16. G. 15.

POWs: Sergeant Norman Hubert Aldridge RAF K POW Stalag 4B Muhlberg (Elbe). F/Lt H A Rainbird USAAF POW camp not listed. Sergeant F Mackie RAF POW camp not listed. Sergeant I Davies RAF POW camp not listed. Sergeant W A Evans RAF POW camp not listed.

Lancaster DV162

Avro Lancaster

Avro Lancaster Mk. X RCAF Serial FM 213
Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum

The Avro Lancaster is a British Second World War heavy bomber. It was designed and manufactured by Avro as a contemporary of the Handley Page Halifax, both bombers having been developed to the same specification, as well as the Short Stirling, all three aircraft being four-engined heavy bombers adopted by the Royal Air Force (RAF) during the same wartime era.

The Lancaster has its origins in the twin-engine Avro Manchester which had been developed during the late 1930s in response to the Air Ministry Specification P.13/36 for a capable medium bomber for "world-wide use". Originally developed as an evolution of the Manchester (which had proved troublesome in service and was retired in 1942), the Lancaster was designed by Roy Chadwick and powered by four Rolls-Royce Merlins and in one version, Bristol Hercules engines. It first saw service with RAF Bomber Command in 1942 and as the strategic bombing offensive over Europe gathered momentum, it was the main aircraft for the night-time bombing campaigns that followed. As increasing numbers of the type were produced, it became the principal heavy bomber used by the RAF, the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) and squadrons from other Commonwealth and European countries serving within the RAF, overshadowing the Halifax and Stirling. Wikipedia

YouTube Lancaster Bomber