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Keeler, Peter Hammerton ( Flight Sergeant)

Prisoner of War 1944-July-13

Male Head

Birth Date: unkown date (age unknown)

Service
RAFVR
Unit
576 (B) Sqn- Squadron (RAF)
Carpe Diem Seize the opportunity
Base
RAF Elsham Wolds
Rank
Flight Sergeant
Marshal
Air Chief MarshalA/C/M
Air MarshalA/M
Air Vice MarshalA/V/M
Air CommodoreA/C
Group CaptainG/C
Wing CommanderW/C
Squadron LeaderS/L
Flight LieutenantF/L
Flying OfficerF/O
Pilot OfficerP/O
Warrant Officer 1st ClassWO1
Warrant Officer 2nd ClassWO2
Flight SergeantFS
SergeantSGT
CorporalCPL
Senior AircraftmanSAC
Leading AircraftmanLAC
Aircraftman 1st ClassAC1
Aircraftman 2nd ClassAC2
Position
Air Gunner (Rear)
Service Numbers
1388476
PoW: 745

Lancaster Mk.III ND859

Bombing Revigny-Sur-Ornain France 1944-July-12 to 1944-July-13

576 (B) Sqn (RAF) RAF Elsham Wolds

576 Squadron RAF Elsham Wolds Lancaster III ND 859 UL-L2 was lost during an operation against rail facilities at Revigny-sur-Ornain, France in support of the D-Day landings. Circling in cloud cover trying to find the target area, ND 859 was involved in a mid-air collision with 44 Squadron RAF Lancaster LM 638 KM-P that was returning from it's operation against the railway junction at Culmont-Chalindrey, France

Lancaster ND 859 crashed at Giey-sur-Aujon, Haute-Marne and LM 638 crashed near Auberive, Haute-Marne France

Sergeant WHM Greig (RAFVR), Pilot Officer C Hart (RAFVR), Sergeant CL Jones (RAFVR), Sergeant E Mitchell (RAFVR) and Sergeant JF McHugh (RAFVR) were all killed in action

Pilot Officer CJ Glenny (RCAF) and Sergeant PH Keeler (RAFVR) survived, Evaded for a time but both were captured and taken as Prisoners of War

Sadly, local school teacher Max Duville had tried to help these airmen evade by giving the German authorities false information about their crash. His deception was discovered and he was shot

General [Royal Air Force Serial and Image Database]...

General Claude Hart 576 Sqn

FS Keeler was captured 1944-08-16 and became a Prisoner of War. He survived the war and went to live in Canada and later retired in Australia

Footprints on the Sands of Time, RAF Bomber Command Prisoners of War in Germany 1939-45 by Oliver Clutton-Brock page 333 The Long Road, Trials and Tribulations of Airmen Prisoners from Stalag Luft VII (Bankau) to Berlin, June 1944-May 1945 by Oliver Clutton-Brock page 315
Target
Google MapRevigny-Sur-Ornain France

Lancaster ND859

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

Wkikpedia Wikipedia

General Harold A Skaarup Web Page

last update: 2021-09-18 14:32:33

Lancaster Mk.III ND859

UL-L2

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