Date:	Sunday 2 January 1944
Time:	01:58 claim
Type:	Avro Lancaster Mk III
Owner/operator:	7 Sqn RAF
Registration:	JB682
MSN:	MG-A
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 7 / Occupants: 7
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	Ramsel, Lingen, Ems, Niedersachsen -   Germany
Phase:	Combat
Nature:	Military
Departure airport:	RAF Oakington
Destination airport:

Narrative:
During the night of 1-2 January 1944, RAF Bomber Command despatched 421 Lancasters to Berlin. The take-off was planned for mid-evening but it was delayed due to doubts about the weather and it only began around midnight. The delay also caused a change to the route, planned as a wide northerly approach over Denmark and the Baltic. The bombers were now ordered to fly the much used direct route accross Holland.

The German controller was not deceived by a Mosquito ‘spoof’ raid on Hamburg, and German fighters were directed on to the bomber stream at an early stage and were particularly active en-route to Berlin. Sixteen bombers are believed to have been lost along that flight, including 8 of the 81 despatched Pathfinders. But then few losses were suffered over Berlin, only two bombers being shot down by fighters there, and the local Flak was probably restricted to the height at which it could fire and only shot down two bombers over Berlin. 29 Lancasters crashed in Europe or were lost without traces, and two more crashed on return in England. Aboard these 31 bombers 183 crew were killed, 33 captured and one evaded.

The target area was covered in cloud and the accuracy of the sky-marking soon deteriorated. The Berlin report says that there was scattered bombing, mainly in the southern parts of the city. A large number of bombs fell in the Grunewald, an extensive wooded area in the south-west of Berlin. Only 21 houses and 1 industrial building were destroyed, with 79 people being killed, including 25 in a panic rush at the entrance of a public air shelter in the Neukölln district. A high-explosive bomb hit a lock on an important canal and stopped shipping at that area for several days.

Minor Bomber Command operations this night included Mosquito raids to Hamburg (15 aircraft), to Witten (11), to Duisburg (7), to Bristillerie (4) and to Cologne (1), 6 RCM sorties, and 14 OTU sorties, all without loss.

German night fighters claimed 27 victories this night, including six by Major Heinrich Prinz zu Sayn-Wittgenstein (number 65 to 70) of Stab NJG 2. Known German losses are seven crew killed, four wounded and 6 aircraft lost: 3 Bf 110, 2 Ju 88 and 1 Bf 109, the latter and one Bf 110 falling to German Flak.
________________________________________________________________________

The Lancaster III JB682 MG-A of 7 Sqn RAF took off at 0010 hrs on 2 January 1944 from Oakington to take part into the Berlin raid. Outbound, it was shot down by night fighter pilot Oberleutnant Dietrich Schmidt of the 8./NJG 1 (based at Twente airfield in the Netherlands), who was flying Bf 110 G-4 G9+GS. Crashed at Ramsel, 4 km ESE from Lingen. All crew were killed and are buried in Reichswald Forest War Cemetery.

Crew:-
Pilot : Squadron Leader Harold Royston Jaggard RAF 39634 [Killed]
Flight Engineer : Sergeant Gerald Vincent Roberts RAF 577100 [Killed]
Navigator : Squadron Leader Albert Edward Taylor DFM RAF 44406 [Killed] (NCO:580402 Commission Gazetted : Friday 13 September, 1940)
Bomb Aimer : Flying Officer Carroll Joseph Donahue DFM RCAF J/17152 [Killed]
Wireless Operator : Flying Officer Joseph Campbell Osborne RAF 49749 [Killed] (NCO:534455 Commission Gazetted : Tuesday 20 October, 1942)
Mid-Upper Gunner : Flight Sergeant Robert George Warwick RAFVR 1318846 [Killed]
Rear Gunner : Warrant Officer John Theodore Williams RAFVR 1381756 [Killed]

Details of Sqn Ldr Taylor and Flg Off Donahue DFM had been published respectively on 30 July 1940 and 11 June 1943 (following service with 97 Sqn for the latter).

"The Bomber Command War Diaries", by Martin Middlebrook and Chris Everitt, ISBN 1-85780-033-8
"The Berlin Raids. RAF Bomber Command Winter 1943-1944", by Martin Middlebrook. ISBN 0-304-35347-7
"Royal Air Force Bomber Command losses, vol 5. Aircraft and Crews Losses 1944", by W R Chorley, ISBN 0-904597-91-1
"Lufwaffe Night Fighter Combat Claims 1939-1945", by John Foreman, Johannes Matthews and Simon Parry. ISBN 0-9538061-4-6
"Deutsche Nachtjagd Personalverluste in Ausbildung und Einsatz - fliegendes Personal -", by Michael Balss
"Deutsche Nachtjagd Materialverluste in Ausbildung und Einsatz", by Michael Balss. ISBN 3-925480-3-6
Nachtjagd Combat Archive 1944 part one, by Dr. Theo Boiten
https://www.cwgc.org/search-for-war-dead.aspx
https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ramsel
http://www.maplandia.com/germany/niedersachsen/weser-ems/emsland/ramsel/
Google Maps
Rob Davis Bomber Command Losses Database

Other occurrences involving this aircraft

20 October 1943	JB175	7 Sqn RAF	7	near Gieten cemetery, Drenthe		w/o
21 January 1944	JB408	7 Sqn RAF	7	Klein Wohnste, Wohnste, Niedersachsen		w/o

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
12-Jan-2018 18:11	Laurent Rizzotti	Added
27-Nov-2019 17:56	TigerTimon	Updated [Time, Cn, Source, Narrative]
27-Nov-2019 17:59	TigerTimon	Updated [Location, Source, Embed code]
22-Jun-2022 05:05	Ron Averes	Updated [Location]
22-Jun-2022 05:11	Ron Averes	Updated [Location]
23-Jun-2022 08:43	Ron Averes	Updated [Location]
01-Jan-2024 08:02	Rob Davis	Updated [Source, Narrative]