Can anyone help me? The last Lancaster to land after theill-fated Nuremburg raid was a Mk.11, LL683/P, of 514 Sqn based at Waterbeach. On it’s return Waterbeach was fogbound, it attempted to land at Stradishall to no avail. Running out of fuel, and 3 of the crew having baled out, it crash landed at Sawbridgeworth, Herts. Was this on the airfield there, and if not does anyone know where?
By: fatnav - 17th February 2006 at 08:50
Thankyou Denis. I know that it broke it’s back on crash-landing and that the remaining four crewmen were not seriously injured. Galdri, thankyou too, but Martin Middlebrook got one thing wrong and I’m still trying to ascertain the precise site of the crash. Three of the crew baled out. This is confirmed by the Ops Record Book(F.540). Two were not seriously hurt, but the rear gunner Sgt Johnny Tanney broke his back on landing and I believe did not fly again.
By: Denis - 16th February 2006 at 23:10
It was just a quarter of a mile from the airfield perimeter according to one local source.
I know someone who found fragments of airframe at (the) crash site a few years ago but there was another Lancaster that crashed nearby, as yet no identity of what exact site is the Nuremburg Lancaster.
By: galdri - 16th February 2006 at 22:57
In ‘The Nurember Raid’ by Martin Middlebrook, ISBN 0-304-35342-6. On page 247 is reference to this Lancaster. Diverted from Waterbeck to Stradishall ……….‘ but this airfield was also fog-bound and despite serveral attemts…….could not land there’ Diverted again almost out of fuel. Then ………‘the fog cleared an and the pilot promptly put his aircraft down in a Hertfordshire field’
Incidently, Middlebrook says only two men parachuted form the aircraft, and both jumps were below 1000′ 😮
It does sound like it was in open country, not an an airfield.
Did a little more reading 😀 On page 335 of the same book is the following.
Lancaster LL683 (W.O. W.L McGown) 103rd down in crashlanding near Sawbridgeworth, Herts. 1 man injured
The 103rd down refers to it’s number in the shot down/crashing sequence. This being the last aircraft. From the above, I would say it crashed in an open field, not on the airfield.
NOTE: Bold font is a direct quote from the book.
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February 16, 2006 at 4:11 pm