On the night of 20th / 21st October 1943 the crew of this unidentified 408 Squadron aircraft took off from Linton on Ouse airfield at 17.22hrs to undertake an operational flight to bomb Leipzig. The aircraft sustained flak damage in the course of the flight, receiving damage to the starboard tail plane and the rear turret. On their return to England the aircraft was landed safely at East Moor airfield at 00.59hrs. It seems that a number of returning 408 Squadron and 426 Squadron crews returning from Ops on this night were diverted to land away from Linton on Ouse possibly because the collision between two Lancasters (DS771 and DS726) had blocked the perimeter track to allow later aircraft to clear the landing area. I have yet to identify most of the crew listed below (who had, in the main, been posted in to 408 Squadron from 1664 HCU on 25th July 1943).
The serial number is not DS769 (as I previously stated).
Pilot - F/Sgt R T Lloyd RCAF.
Navigator - F/O J F Fowler RCAF.
Bomb Aimer - F/Sgt Gordon Everett Cameron RCAF (R/154071).
Wireless Operator - Sgt L Lane RAF.
Air Gunner - Sgt E J Williams RAF.
Air Gunner - Sgt M A Robert RCAF.
Flight Engineer - Sgt Henry Arthur Nightingale RAFVR (1714926).
From William Chorley's Bomber Command 1943 losses book the following more serious incident is recorded. On 27th November 1943 all of the above were flying Ops to Berlin in Lancaster DS714 when the aircraft was damaged by flak, Sgt Robert sustained injuries to his foot. Later in the night while flying over Holland the Lancaster was then attacked by a Junkers Ju88 but which was successfully evaded and it did not cause any further damage. The aircraft then began to suffer engine trouble, firstly the starboard inner and then the starboard outer engine began to fail and also a problem with the rudder trim made controlling the aircraft difficult. Having reached Lincolnshire the crew were about to abandon the aircraft in the Fiskerton area but the escape hatch could not be opened so the pilot force landed it in a field near Lincoln.
The commissioned P/O Gordon Cameron was still serving with 408 Squadron on 29th July 1944 when Lancaster LL725 was lost without trace on Ops to Hamburg. He has no known grave and is commemorated on the Runnymede Memorial.
Henry Nightingale was killed flying with 408 Squadron on 23rd May 1944 when Lancaster DS759 failed to return from Ops to Dortmund. He is buried in Reichswald War Cemetery.
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