ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 258978
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| Date: | Wednesday 14 July 1943 |
| Time: | 01:48 LT |
| Type: |  Short Stirling Mk III |
| Owner/operator: | 90 Sqn RAF |
| Registration: | EE873 |
| MSN: | WP-D |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 7 / Occupants: 8 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | Elen, Dilsen-Stokkem, Limburg -
 Belgium
|
| Phase: | Combat |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | RAF West Wickham |
Took off at 23:46 hrs for an operation against Aachen in Germany.
The aircraft was shot down by night fighter pilot Hauptmann Heinrich Wohlers of the Stab IV./NJG 4 (detached to 3./NJG 1), who was flying a Bf 110 G-4 from Venlo airfield in the Netherlands.
The Germans found seven bodies in the wreck, the normal number of crew members for a Stirling. Possibly because of this the search for the eighth crew member, the above mentioned Robert Clarke, was stopped. That night the crew was flying with a second pilot. The crash site was subjected to a thorough investigation by members of the Fliegerhorstkommandantur of Sint-Truiden. The plane had exploded in the air and the wreckage was scattered over a distance of about two kilometres. The Flemish Guard of Maaseik pulled up the surveillance. Three Bristol-Hercules star engines were scattered around. A fourth engine was found with a piece of wing on Dutch territory. Other found items were two unopened parachutes, about one hundred fire bombs and fifteen phosphorus bombs, a rubber boat, six life jackets, the radio installation, ammunition and two Browning machine guns. The German Bergungskommando managed to identify the seven victims. F/Lt Cyril Coombs, the 22-year old pilot, was still wearing his immatriculation plate. Sgt Charles Long, the radio operator, also still had his plate. The co-pilot, 32-year-old P/O Ernest Candy, had his name stitched into his uniform jacket, as did Sgt John Brandshaw, the flight engineer. The navigator, 23-year-old F/O Paul Swallow still had his identity card with him. In a jumper of one of the bodies they found the name of Sgt William Dawson, the 21-year-old bomb aimer. Finally, the identity of the seventh victim, Sgt Eric Potter, was found in an electrically heated jacket.
Crew:-
Pilot : Flight Lieutenant Cyril Ernest Coombs RAFVR 144181 [Killed] (NCO:1312002 Commission Gazetted : Tuesday 01 June, 1943)
2nd Pilot : Pilot Officer Ernest Candy RAFVR 149523 [Killed] (NCO:1377068 Commission Gazetted : Tuesday 14 September, 1943)
Flight Engineer : Sergeant John Olav Bradshaw RAFVR 1474536 [Killed]
Bomb Aimer : Sergeant William Gorden Dawson RAFVR 1501161 [Killed]
Bomb Aimer : Flying Officer Paul Douglas Swallow RAFVR 127306 [Killed] (NCO:1498421 Commission Gazetted : Tuesday 27 October, 1942)
Wireless Operator / Air Gunner : Sergeant Charles Alexander Long RAFVR 1332091 [Killed]
Mid-Upper Gunner : Sergeant Raymond Clarke RAF 102139 [Evaded]
Rear Gunner : Sergeant Eric Bradley Potter RAFVR 1585887 [Killed]
Today they rest in the Heverlee War Cemetery at Leuven.
Sources:
Nachtjagd Combat Archive 1943 part two
https://luchtvaartgeschiedenis.be/content/stirling-te-rotem
http://www.aircrewremembered.com/AlliedLossesIncidents/?q=EE873&qand=&exc1=&exc2=&search_only=&search_type=exact
Google Maps
Rob Davis Bomber Command Losses Database
History of this aircraft
Other occurrences involving this aircraft
| 14 February 1943 | BF438 | 90 Sqn RAF | 7 | North Sea 45 km W of Vlissingen, Zeeland |  |
mis |
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 05-May-2021 19:07 | TigerTimon | Added |
| 13-Jul-2023 06:38 | Rob Davis | Updated |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
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