Date:	Monday 4 December 1944
Time:	evening
Type:	Avro Lancaster Mk III
Owner/operator:	619 Sqn RAF
Registration:	LM751
MSN:	PG-X
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 5 / Occupants: 7
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	Baiersbronn, Baden-Württemberg -   Germany
Phase:	Combat
Nature:	Military
Departure airport:	RAF Strubby, Lincolnshire
Destination airport:

Narrative:
RAF Strubby in Lincolnshire was the most easterly of RAF Bomber Command bases. In December 1944, it was the base for 619 Squadron and it was from here that the Lancaster III LM751 PG-X of this unit took off at 16:42 hours on Monday December 4th, 1944 along with a number of other aircraft on an operation to bomb Heilbronn, a town sitting on the Neckar River midway between Heideberg and Stuttgart.

This raid on Heilbronn was flown by 282 Lancasters and 10 Mosquitos of No 5 Group and was a crushing blow on the city which stood on a main north-south railway line but was otherwise of little importance. It was the first and only major raid by Bomber Command on this target. 1,254 tons of bombs fell in a few minutes and the post-war British Bombing Survey Unit estimated that 351 acres, 82 per cent of the town’s built-up area, were destroyed, mainly by fire. Much investigation by various people resulted in the reliable estimate that just over 7,000 people died. Most of these victims would have died in fires so intense that there was probably a genuine firestorm.

12 Lancasters of the Heilbronn force were lost (this night Bomber Command dispatched 1000 aircraft and lost 14). LM751 was one of them. The Lanc was so severely damaged that it crashed at Baiersbronn about 7km NW of Freudenstadt. The cause of the crash, whether caused by a night fighter or by Flak, has not been established.

Five crew were killed. The other two crew members survived the crash although seriously injured and became Prisoners of War.

Crew:-
Pilot : Flying Officer Robert Harry Schaefer RCAF J/35883 [Killed]
Flight Engineer : Sergeant Leslie George Weir RAFVR 1894060 [Killed]
Navigator : Flying Officer Philip Peter Awad RCAF J/39979 [Killed]
Bomb Aimer : Flying Officer Frederick Leonard Meredith RCAF J/38814 [Killed]
Wireless Operator : Sergeant John Lonsdale Swanson RAFVR 1138377 [Killed]
Mid-Upper Gunner : Sergeant J Ross Keilty RCAF [PoW]
Rear Gunner : Sergeant John E Nicolaiff RCAF [PoW]

Frederick Leonard Meredith was born to his parents Hubert Wellington Meredith and Clara Eleanor Bevan and was one of three children but when Frederick was two years old his mother Clara died. But Hubert as much as he tried after his wife died was unable to look after the children with proper care and so they were adopted by Hubert’s brother, the Revd. Frederick Roy Meredith and his wife, Georgina McLean Hastie who had no children. According to Fred’s military papers, the Revd. Fred and Georgina are listed as “next of kin” foster parents. Following the shooting down of Lancaster LM751, Frederick’s wife, Bernice (Tomlinson) received a letter from him saying that he would be home in three weeks time and that they would celebrate their first wedding anniversary together but at the same time the Revd. Frederick Meredith received a letter telling him that is nephew Fred had been shot down and was missing presumed dead.

Phillip Peter Awad was an American from Detroit, Michigan.

http://www.lancastered627.shaunmcguire.co.uk/lm751.html
"Royal Air Force Bomber Command losses, vol 5. Aircraft and Crews Losses 1944", by W R Chorley, ISBN 0-904597-91-1
https://www.raf.mod.uk/bombercommand/dec44.html
Nachtjagd Combat Archive 1944 part five
https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baiersbronn
http://www.maplandia.com/germany/baden-wurttemberg/karlsruhe/freudenstadt/baiersbronn/
Rob Davis Bomber Command Losses Database

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
04-Dec-2017 10:19	Laurent Rizzotti	Added
11-Sep-2021 07:22	TigerTimon	Updated [Time, Cn, Location, Departure airport, Source, Narrative]
04-Dec-2023 07:55	Rob Davis	Updated [Source, Narrative]