Beanland, Charles Alec (Flight Sergeant)

148 Squadron (Trusty). Aircraft was shot down by an enemy fighter (possibly a Soviet fighter) at Letowice approximately 6 miles south west of Tarnow. Mission was in support of the Warsaw Uprising. FS CA Beanland (RCAF), Pilot Officer CW Crabtree (RAF), Warrant Officer JA Carroll (RAF), FS A Bennett (RAAF), FS DJ Mason (RAF), Sergeant A Baird (RAF) and Sergeant A Sandilands (RAF) were killed. There were two 148 Squadron aircraft lost in the same area on the same night. Please see Liddell AG for the details of the other Halifax II aircraft, JP 276 "A" 23 aircraft attempted to fly arms to reinforce the uprising in Warsaw but only 12 made it to the target. Six were shot down, most of them by Russian fighter aircraft. The Russian forces had advanced and stopped just short of Warsaw and told the Polish underground General to rise up and attack the German occupying forces. This they did for 2 months while the Russian forces never moved - hoping the non Communist Polish underground army of 40,000 would be destroyed. They nearly all were. On August 14, 1944 a similar raid took place and 11 aircraft were shot down. This cemetery contains the graves of 7 Canadian, 62 British. 40 South African, and 15 Polish airmen all killed as a result of this bizarre operation.