[Steve Smith]

Hi,

Taken from St Vith to Victory, history of No.218 Squadron.

The small gaggle of eleven Lancasters encountered heavy accurate flak from St Omer on the way home, and F/L Knapman lost an engine to it. LM258 HA-Q was also hit, and it seems that F/L Douglas Haggis had to feather one or both engines on the port side. The Lancaster was coaxed across the North Sea to within sight of the Suffolk Coast, where a number of witnesses in Felixstowe observed it approaching low from the north-west with its undercarriage lowered and both port engines stationary. Witnesses also reported that the pilot was apparently looking for somewhere to ditch as the Lancaster was circling near the New Pier, when it suddenly banked to port, side slipped and dived into the sea at 21.15hrs.
Two dull explosions followed and a fire broke out on the water. A Walrus aircraft was soon on the spot, as were two launches, but sadly, only one survivor was located. The critically injured gunner was brought to Felixstowe docks and then transported to a local RAF Hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries at 00.30hrs. The pilot had been on his eleventh operation, and his and his crew’s bodies were recovered over the following weeks as they were washed ashore.