Birth Date: unkown date
Born:
Home:
Enlistment:
Enlistment Date: Unknown
Service
RAFVR
Unit
576 (B) Sqn- Squadron (RAF)
Carpe Diem Seize the opportunity
Base
RAF Elsham Woods
Rank
Sergeant
Position
Sergeant
Service Numbers
1517136
PoW: 511
Stuttgart Germany
Footprints on the Sands of Time, RAF Bomber Command Prisoners of War in Germany 1939-45 by Oliver Clutton-Brock, page 282
The Long Road, Trials and Tribulations of Airmen Prisoners from Stalag Luft VII (Bankau) to Berlin, June 1944-May 1945 by Oliver Clutton-Brock and Raymond Crompton, page 301
576 Squadron (Carpe Diem) RAF Elsham Woods. Lancaster I aircraft LL 905 UL-H2 was lost during a night raid against targets in Stuttgart, Germany. The Lancaster was shot down by a German night fighter and crashed six miles south-east of Saaralben, Alsace Lorraine between Saarewerden (Bas-Rhin) and Rimsdorf, France
Their are two claims for this Lancaster, either Hauptmann Martin Becker of the 2/NJG6 (flying Bf 110 G-4 2Z+MK) or Unteroffizier Egon Engling of the 8/NJG2
Flying Officer Edward James Mann DFC (RCAF), Flight Sergeant Donald Irwin MacVicar (RCAF), Flight Sergeant Leslie Mutton (RAAF) and Sergeant Reginald Alan Wellesley Roberts (RAFVR) were all killed in action
Flying Officer Anton Novak (RCAF), Flight Sergeant Francis Thomas McCann (RAFVR) and Sergeant William Thomas Doidge (RAFVR) survived to become Prisoners of War
There were four 576 Squadron Lancaster aircraft lost this same date. The other Lancaster aircraft were serials PB 128 UL-S2, LL 799 UL-N2 and PB 253 UL-A2
Nachtjagd Combat Archive 1944 Part 4 24 July - 15 October by Theo Boiten, page 22
1 Group Bomber Command an Operarional Record by Chris Ward with Greg Harrison and Grzegorz Korcz
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
494 Lancasters and 2 Mosquitos of 1,3,5, and 8 Groups in the last raid of the current series on the target. German fighters intercepted the bomber stream while over France on the outward flight; there was a bright moon and 39 Lancasters were shot down. 7.9% of the force.
46 Lancasters from 408, 419, and 428 Squadron were joined by 186 Halifaxes from 408, 415, 420, 424, 425, 425, 427, 429, 431, 432, 433, and 434 Squadrons on an attack at Hamburg. The crews were over the target at between 16,000 and 22,000 feet, releasing 2,019,000 lbs of high explosives. According to reports, some bombing fell into the port area, otherwise the attack was scattered. On this attack, 6 Group suffered their highest losses. 22 crews failed to return.
As well as the crews that went to Hamburg, 5 Halifaxes from424 Squadron were ordered on a mining operation to Heligoland. The crews were over the garden at between 12,000 and 15,000 feet, sowing 20@1500 lb mines. Richard Koval (6bombergroup.ca)
576 Squadron (Carpe Diem) RAF Elsham Woods. Lancaster I aircraft LL 905 UL-H2 was lost during a night raid against targets in Stuttgart, Germany. The Lancaster was shot down by a German night fighter and crashed six miles south-east of Saaralben, Alsace Lorraine between Saarewerden (Bas-Rhin) and Rimsdorf, France
Their are two claims for this Lancaster, either Hauptmann Martin Becker of the 2/NJG6 (flying Bf 110 G-4 2Z+MK) or Unteroffizier Egon Engling of the 8/NJG2
Flying Officer Edward James Mann DFC (RCAF), Flight Sergeant Donald Irwin MacVicar (RCAF), Flight Sergeant Leslie Mutton (RAAF) and Sergeant Reginald Alan Wellesley Roberts (RAFVR) were all killed in action
Flying Officer Anton Novak (RCAF), Flight Sergeant Francis Thomas McCann (RAFVR) and Sergeant William Thomas Doidge (RAFVR) survived to become Prisoners of War
There were four 576 Squadron Lancaster aircraft lost this same date. The other Lancaster aircraft were serials PB 128 UL-S2, LL 799 UL-N2 and PB 253 UL-A2
Nachtjagd Combat Archive 1944 Part 4 24 July - 15 October by Theo Boiten, page 22
1 Group Bomber Command an Operarional Record by Chris Ward with Greg Harrison and Grzegorz Korcz
Carpe Diem - 576 Squadron RAF - The Crews
Library and Archives Canada Service Files (may not exist)
Lancaster Bomber
Wikipedia