Date:	Tuesday 16 May 1944
Time:	17:00
Type:	de Havilland DH.98 Mosquito FB Mk VI
Owner/operator:	418 (City of Edmonton) Sqn RCAF
Registration:	MM421
MSN:	TH-P
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 2
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	Baltic Sea, 3 miles south of Ystad, Skåne County. -   Sweden
Phase:	Combat
Nature:	Military
Departure airport:	RAF Coltishall, Norfolk
Destination airport:

Narrative:
Mosquito MM421/P: Took off at 15:00 hrs for Day Ranger mission to German Baltic Coast. 16/05/1944
Mission was flown as a two-ship with S/Ldr SCHERF and F/O FINLAYSON. Crashed in Baltic Sea at 17:00 hrs.
Crew:
W/Cdr (J/5756) Howard Douglas CLEVELAND DFC (pilot) RCAF - injured
F/Sgt (1503804) Frank DAY DFM (nav.) RAFVR - killed.

Public Record Office WO 208/3320 had his MI.9 report; he had left Stockholm on 16 June 1944, arrived in Britain 17 June 1944, and was interviewed on 18 June 1944.
"I was captain and first pilot of a Mosquito aircraft which tookoff from RAF Coltishall on 10 May 1944 at about 13:00 hrs on a Day Ranger operation across Denmark, and covering German aerodromes on the Baltic. When approximately over Rostock we were hit by flak at about 15:30 hrs. One engine was rendered completely unserviceable, and the fuselage was badly damaged.
"It was obvious that we would not be able to reach base, so I took the only alternative of attempting to get to Sweden.
"When over Ystad we were fired on by flak, although it was obvious that we were in distress. This compelled me to fly out to sea again. I ditched outside the three-mile limit, exactly south of Ystad at about 17:00 hrs. The aircraft broke up badly, but we both got out safely. The water was so cold that I just managed to inflate my dinghy and got into it before becoming unconscious. When last seen my navigator was trying to get his dinghy inflated. When I came to about half an hour later there was no sign of him.
"I was picked up by a Swedish fishing boat, which also found my navigator's body. I was taken ashore and to a hospital in Ystad. I was there till 22 May. On the second day a member of the British Legation at Malmo came to see me. On 22 May I was taken to the internment camp at Falun. After a trip to Stockholm to report the details of our accident to the authorities. I returned to Falun whilst negotiations were being carried out with the Swedes for my repatriation.
"At no time was any interrogation pressed on me, and I was treated with great consideration. On 17 June I was taken down to Stockholm and repatriated on 18 June 1944."

1.http://www.airhistory.org.uk/dh/_DH98%20prodn%20list.txtt
2.http://www.rafcommands.com/forum/showthread.php?3359-Crash-location-418-Sqdn-RCAF-Mosquito-MM421.
3.https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/D8403993
4.ORB 418 Sqdn RCAF

Other occurrences involving this aircraft

21 February 1945	PZ414	418 (City of Edmonton) Sqn RCAF	0	RAF stn Hartford Bridge, Hampshire, England		min
Bird strike

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
12-Apr-2014 17:08	Nepa	Added
13-Aug-2015 18:33	Nepa	Updated [Aircraft type, Location, Phase, Departure airport, Narrative]
27-Jan-2018 13:42	Nepa	Updated [Date, Aircraft type, Narrative]
16-Aug-2021 19:18	grapeshot418	Updated [Source, Narrative]
26-Oct-2021 10:18	Nepa	Updated [Cn, Other fatalities, Source, Narrative, Operator]
03-Jul-2022 10:06	Nepa	Updated [Narrative, Operator]
05-Jul-2022 09:40	Nepa	Updated [Location, Narrative, Operator]
05-Jul-2022 09:40	Nepa	Updated [Operator]