ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 267034
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| Date: | Friday 31 March 1944 |
| Time: | night |
| Type: |  Avro Lancaster Mk III |
| Owner/operator: | 622 Sqn RAF |
| Registration: | ND767 |
| MSN: | GI-D |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 7 / Occupants: 7 |
| Other fatalities: | 6 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | Rachecourt, Aubange, Luxembourg -
 Belgium
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | RAF Mildenhall, Suffolk |
Took off at 22:30 hrs for an operation against Nürnberg in Germany.
It all went wrong over Rachecourt, 13 kilometres south-west of Arlon. The Halifax LV923 of Squadron Leader George Laird (427 Squadron) collided with the Lancaster ND767 " GI-D ", piloted by P/O Eric Pickin. The Lanc came down on the Halifax. Still on board the Lanc were Sgt Henry Page (flight engineer, aged 32) WW2 John Merritt (navigator, aged 21, RCAF), F/S Cleveland Schmidt (aged 32, RAAF), Sgt Raymond Asplen (radio operator, aged 21), Sgt George Collins (gunner, aged 20) and Sgt John Coup (gunner, aged 24).
The Halifax was given a little respite. Three occupants were killed, four were able to jump. For two of them it was too late, their parachutes did not open in time. The 22-year old radio operator, P/O John Morrison DFC, died twenty days later of his wounds at Arlon, where he was buried. The others killed were F/S Arthur Stainton (co-pilot, aged 27, RCAF), F/O William Soeder (navigator, aged 26, RCAF), P/O Joseph Corbally (bomb aimer, aged 24, RCAF), F/S William Clapham (radio operator) and P/O Lloyd Smith (mid-upper gunner, aged 24, RCAF). Only the Canadian tail gunner James Moffatt made it out alive - he hid in the woods and eventually ended up in a resistance nest where he fought for two months as machine gunner of the Groupe Randolet.
Today the thirteen airmen rest in Hotton War Cemetery.
Sources:
https://luchtvaartgeschiedenis.be/content/lancaster-bij-rachecourt
Google Maps
http://www.aircrewremembered.com/laird-george-johnstone.html
History of this aircraft
Other occurrences involving this aircraft
| 1 June 1944 | ND926 | 622 Sqn RAF | 5 | Meru, 40 km NW of Parid, Oisne |  |
w/o |
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 23-Aug-2021 14:05 | TigerTimon | Added |
| 26-Jun-2022 01:03 | Ron Averes | Updated [Location] |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
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