Ansell, John
Prisoner of War 1944-02-26
Birth Date: 1923-October-09
Born: Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Home: Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Enlistment:
Enlistment Date: Unknown
Service
RAAF
Unit
50 (B) Sqn- Squadron (RAF)
Sic Fidem Servamus Thus we keep faith
Base
RAF Skellingthorpe
Rank
Position
Sergeant
Service Numbers
410615
PoW: 249
Target
Augsburg Germany
Took off from Skellingthorpe at 18:37 in Lancaster Mk I (Sqn code VN-O Bomber Command) on an operation to Augsburg Germany.
Shot down outbound by a pair of night-fighters crashing near Embermenil (Muerthe-et- Moselle) 40 km ESE of Nancy France.
Killed:Sergeant Kenneth Edric Gilson RAF KIA Embermenil Communal Cemetery France.
POWs includes Ansell:Sergeant John Acthim RCAF R/191209 POW Stalag Luft L7 Bankau near Kreuzburg, Upper Silesia.Flight Sergeant John Ansell RAF POW Stalag Luft L7 Bankau near Kreuzburg, Upper Silesia.Flight Sergeant David Thomas Balmanno RAF POW Stalag Luft L7 Bankau near Kreuzburg, Upper Silesia.Sergeant Thomas James Taylor RAF POW camp not listed.Pilot Officer William Herbert Taylor RAF POW Stalag Luft L3 Sagan and Belaria.
Footprints on the Sands of Time, RAF Bomber Command Prisoners of War in Germany 1939-45 by Oliver Clutton-Brock, page 235The Long Road, Trails and tribulations of Airmen Prisoners from Stalag Luft VII (Bankau) to Berlin, June 1944-May 1945 by Oliver Clutton-Brock and Raymond Compton, pages 109,287
Library and Archives Canada Service Files (may not exist)Lancaster Mk.I LL791
Bombing Augsburg Germany 1944-February-25 to 1944-February-26
50 (B) Sqn (RAF) RAF Skellingthorpe
50 Squadron (Sic Fidem Servamus) RAF Skellingthorpe. Lancaster BI aircraft LL 791 VN-O was attacked by two night fighters during an operation against targets in Augsburg, Germany. A fire started in the bomb bay when incendiaries caught fire, which was also fed by hydraulic fluid and with the bomber uncontrollable, the order to bail was given. The aircraft crashed near Embermenil, Meurthe-et-Moselle, France
Sergeant KE Gilson (RAFVR) was killed when he bailed from the aircraft, possibly due to a parachute malfunction
Pilot Officer J Acthim (RCAF), Flight Sergeant J Ansell (RAAF, Flight Sergeant DT Balmanno (RAAF), Sergeant TJ Taylor (RAF) and Pilot Officer WH Taylor (RAF) and Sergeant HS Cammish (RAF) survived and evaded with the aid of the French Underground until five of the six were captured 1944-04-21 at Luchon, near the French-Spanish border, part of a group of 30-35 evaders who were captured at this time and became Prisoners of War. Only Sergeant Cammish continued to escape capture as an Evader
Lancaster LL791
Avro Lancaster
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
Lancaster Bomber
Wikipedia Lancaster LL791 Mk.I - Bombing Augsburg Germany - 1944-02-25 to 1944-02-26
6 Bomber Group February 25/26, 1944
19 Lancasters from 408 and 426 Squadrons were joined by 44 Halifaxes from 420, 424, 425, 427, 432, and 433 Squadrons, on an attack at Augsburg. The crews were over the target at between 16,000 and 25,000 feet, releasing 76,000 lbs of high explosives and 184,000 lbs of incendiaries. According to reports, the weather was clear and severe damage was caused.
While the above crews went to Augsburg, 50 Halifaxes from 419, 428,429, 431, and 434 Squadrons were ordered on a mining operation to KielBay. The crews were over the garden at between 12,000 and 15,000 feet, sowing 78@1500 lb mines. Richard Koval (6bombergroup.ca)
50 Squadron (Sic Fidem Servamus) RAF Skellingthorpe. Lancaster BI aircraft LL 791 VN-O was attacked by two night fighters during an operation against targets in Augsburg, Germany. A fire started in the bomb bay when incendiaries caught fire, which was also fed by hydraulic fluid and with the bomber uncontrollable, the order to bail was given. The aircraft crashed near Embermenil, Meurthe-et-Moselle, France
Sergeant KE Gilson (RAFVR) was killed when he bailed from the aircraft, possibly due to a parachute malfunction
Pilot Officer J Acthim (RCAF), Flight Sergeant J Ansell (RAAF, Flight Sergeant DT Balmanno (RAAF), Sergeant TJ Taylor (RAF) and Pilot Officer WH Taylor (RAF) and Sergeant HS Cammish (RAF) survived and evaded with the aid of the French Underground until five of the six were captured 1944-04-21 at Luchon, near the French-Spanish border, part of a group of 30-35 evaders who were captured at this time and became Prisoners of War. Only Sergeant Cammish continued to escape capture as an Evader
[Royal Air Force Serial and Image Database]...