ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 234552
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| Date: | Tuesday 11 April 1944 |
| Time: | 23:25 LT |
| Type: |  Avro Lancaster Mk I |
| Owner/operator: | 49 Sqn RAF |
| Registration: | LL899 |
| MSN: | EA-P |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 7 / Occupants: 7 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | Henxbroekweg, Brecht, Antwerp -
 Belgium
|
| Phase: | Combat |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | RAF Fiskerton, Lincolnshire |
Takeoff at 20:31 hrs for an operation to Aachen in Germany.
Homeward-bound, the aircraft was shot down by night fighter pilot Oberleutnant Heinz-Wolfgang Schnaufer of the Stab IV./NJG 1, who had become airborne from St Trond (Sint-Truiden) airfield at 22:08 hrs, in Bf 110 G-4 G9+DF.
Pilot Officer Cliff Coward was able to leave the burning Lancaster in the last minute. When his parachute opened, the flying boots slid off his feet. He knocked down unusually hard in a meadow. When the navigator regained consciousness, he dragged himself with his last strength to a tree. He died a lonely death there. The next morning, Cliff's lifeless body was found at the root of that same tree. This is incorrect the airman found with his back against the tree was my uncle John Hennessey Flight Engineer.
One other member of the crew was found lying in a field nearby this was Pete Monck the Wireless Operator. John was a Roman Catholic and had his Rosary beads in his hand. Pete Monck had burns to one side of his face. The other crew were still inside the burnt out Lancaster. John & Pete were taken away first and buried separately from the rest of the crew. They all now lie in Schoolselhof Cemetery.
Cliff Coward was originally identified as Cliff Conard possibly as his Dog Tag was damaged in the fire.
This information was gathered by the late Eddie Coward (Cliff's brother) and a Belgian friend Cyriel Verbeest who acted as translator from first hand interview with the farmers at Boorsbeek Farm where LL899 crashed
Crew:-
Pilot : Flight Lieutenant Donovan John Bacon DFC RAFVR 132592 (NCO:656016 : Commission Gazetted Tuesday 17 November, 1942) [Killed]
Flight Engineer : Sergeant John Patrick Hennessey RAFVR 1802604 [Killed]
Navigator : Pilot Officer Clifford William Coward RAFVR 171192 (NCO:1383493 : Commission Gazetted Tuesday 07 March, 1944) [Killed]
Bomb Aimer : Flying Officer Nicholas Melnick RCAF J/21183 [Killed]
Wireless Operator / Air Gunner : Sergeant Peter Monck RAFVR 1318155 [Killed]
Mid-Upper Gunner : Sergeant Stanley William Weedon RAFVR 1587438 [Killed]
Rear Gunner : Flight Sergeant Clarence Edwin Richard RCAF R/154916 [Killed]
Sources:
https://luchtvaartgeschiedenis.be/content/lancaster-te-sint-lenaarts
Nachtjagd Combat Archive 1944 part two
http://www.aircrewremembered.com/AlliedLossesIncidents/?q=LL899
Google Maps
Rob Davis Bomber Command Losses Database
History of this aircraft
Other occurrences involving this aircraft
| 5 July 1944 | PB195 | 49 Sqn RAF | 7 | Plantognon, Romescamps, Oise 60 |  |
w/o |
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 30-Mar-2020 14:56 | TigerTimon | Added |
| 03-May-2021 19:14 | Anon. | Updated [Narrative] |
| 26-Jun-2022 02:47 | Ron Averes | Updated [Location] |
| 02-Sep-2022 16:17 | tachel | Updated [Source, Narrative] |
| 02-Sep-2022 16:18 | tachel | Updated [Source] |
| 11-Apr-2024 06:35 | Rob Davis | Updated [Source, Narrative] |
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