ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 316106
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| Date: | Wednesday 30 August 1944 |
| Time: | ? |
| Type: |  Avro Lancaster |
| Owner/operator: | 467 Sqn RAAF |
| Registration: | LM267 |
| MSN: | PO-J |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 7 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | - |
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | RAF Waddington |
| Knigsberg |
467 Squadron Lancaster I LM267 PO-J
Konigsberg
Took off from RAF Waddington at 20:32.
In a later report FO Richards stated “ The aircraft was coned at 8000 feet and hit several time by flak with the port inner engine on fire. Ordered crew ‘jump, jump’ but not acknowledged. Bomb Aimer, Navigator, Engineer and Rear Gunner baled out before me at approx 3500 feet. Aircraft very difficult to control and on fire. Aircraft crashed approx 30 miles WSW of Konigsberg. Captured on
2 September 1944 with Muirhead. We were looking for water around an apparently disused house – an old man spoke to us and we pretended to be Italians. He gave us water. Luftwaffe guard stopped us 2 miles further on. He apparently had been warned by the old man. Released on 1 May 1945 when Germans left camp ahead of advancing Russian units.”
FO Dinsdale reported “Aircraft hit by several bursts of Flak on way out of target. Capt ordered ‘jump jump’ but did not hear any acknowledgements. First out were Nav and Engineer behind me. Rear Gunner went out about the same time Aircraft out of control and on fire. Crashed on Baltic coast north of Konigsberg. Five baled out. Unsure about WOp and Mid Upper gunner. They were unable to open the rear escape hatch . Captured by Germans on 30 August 1944. Released by Russians 1 May 1945.”
Sgt Andrews was part of Trupp 31. He arrived at Bankau on 13 September 1944.
Flt Sgt Stockdill RAAF was part of Trupp 33. He arrived at Bankau on 18 September 1944.
WO Muirhead RAAF was part of Trupp 34. He arrived at Bankau on 25 September 1944.
WO Muirhead was captured on 2 September 1944. He escaped from the march on 20 January 1945.
There were two groups of escapees. The first group consistent of six personel. WO Muirhead was in a group that included Flt Sgt W Dyson and WO J H Marini.
Making their way up to the top floor of the brick factory, the nine men crawled on top of the large ovens in the hope that they would not be noticed when the column moved off. McPhail: “We were dressed in RAF Uniform, but for the purposes of bettering the chances of our escape we took off our NCO badges and took officers’ rank. Fortunately the dust, which lay everywhere an inch thick, was covered in boot tracks, and when the guards returned that night their dogs were unable to find any scent in the dust.
The group of six was found next morning by Polish workmen, who told the airmen to stay in hiding as there were still Germans patrols in the area. They returned with blankets and food, and were back again in the evening with the news that Dyson, Muirhead and Marini were outside with a
Russian tank. With all nine airmen aboard the tank headed back towards Karlsruhe: The tanks were firing all the time, engaging the fast retreating enemy”. Spend the night in a large house in
Karlsruhe: “The tanks were firing all the time, engaging the fast retreating enemy. Spending the night in a large house in Karlsruhe, they had an interview on the following day with high staff officers including a General (name unknown), who treated us very politely’. That morning they put us in a truck and driven to Laski 100km East of Breslau. On 26 January 1945 they left for the PoW
collection centre that had been established by the Russians at Lubin nor far from Majdanek
concentration camp.
On 23 February 1945 some 500 escaped PoWs were sent by train from Lubin to Odessa. The
officer in charge Fg Off P J Anderson RCAF described it as a journey made “in bitter cold that took six days and nights”.
On arrival at Odessa on 28 February 1945, the officers and the men from Lubin were separated and according to Anderson: “were issued with one blanket apiece and were deloused - showers and baths were available.
On 7 March 1945 Fg Off Anderson and about 1,700 all ranks - which must have included a second train load of Allied ex PoWs from Krakow and embarked on the Moreton Bay.
Sailing across the Black Sea the Moreton Bay reached Port Said on 12 March 1945 via the Bosporus
the Sea of Marmara, the Dardanelles, the Aegean and the Mediterranean. Its passengers though were not allowed to disembark until 15 March 1945 when RAF personel were taken off and sent to Cairo. We remained in Cairo until 18 March 1945 and were housed at No 22 PTC under canvas. From there aircrew were dispersed to their respective countries for most of them their war was done.
Crew
Pilot: A/427149 Fg Off John Arthur Richards RAAF - PoW/Stalag Luft 1 Barth Vogelsang/PoW
Number 5299.
Flight Engineer: 1636735 Sgt Daniel James Laurel Andrews - PoW/Stalag Luft VII Bankau near Kreuzburg Upper Silesia/ PoW Number 728.
Navigator: A/427136 WO Mervyn John Muirhead RAAF - PoW/Stalag Luft VII Bankau near Kreuzburg Upper Silesia/PoW Number 752.
Bomb Aimer: A/424997 Fg Off Thomas Norman Dinsdale RAAF - PoW/Stalag Luft 1 Barth Vogelsang
PoW Number 5281.
Wireless Operator/Air Gunner: A/427560 Flt Sgt George Arthur Shoesmith RAAF - Runnymede
Memorial Panel 261.
Mid Upper Gunner: A/417590 Flt Sgt Maurice John Mahar RAAF - Runnymede Memorial Panel 261.
Rear Gunner: A/427957 Flt Sgt Ronald George Stockdill - PoW/Stalag Luft VII Bankau near Kreuzburg Upper Silesia/PoW Number 758.
Sources:
Extract The Long Road - Oliver Clutton-Brock
CWGC
RAAF Service Records
467 SQUADRON RAAF WORLD WAR 2 FATALITIES
History of this aircraft
Other occurrences involving this aircraft
| 3 February 1945 | PB306 | 467 Sqn RAAF | 8 | Hohenwettersbach SE of Karlsruhe |  |
w/o |
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 28-Jun-2023 08:28 | Anon. | Added |
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