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Old 13th March 2021, 19:37
RSwank RSwank is offline
Alter Hase
 
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Re: Crash locations 115 Sqn Lancaster PD276 and 158 Sqn Halifaxes MZ734 and MZ945 25 Oct. 1944 sought

Theo,

KB737 is a little harder to track down. There was one survivor on the plane, the tail gunner R.W.S. Gray. His account is here, see pdf page 60:

https://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/UN/...eas_vol3_e.pdf

Gray’s account of loss. Note, he was a tail gunner and his turret was blown off the aircraft by flak over Essen.

“On the second’ attack a Ghost Squadron aircraft piloted by F/O F. S. Raftery was also lost. Sgt. R. W. S. Gray, the rear gunner, who was made a prisoner of war, stated that, immediately after bombing, his turret was hit by flak and blown off the aircraft. He was wounded and badly shaken by the explosion but remembers tearing a damaged door off his .turret, leaning back and falling out. He drifted down on his parachute into a field just outside Essen and was picked up immediately on landing. He was the only survivor of the crew which included in addition to Raftery, F/Os H. Wright and H. A. Armstrong, FS I. V. Bartlemay, Sgts. L. E. Toneri and R. C. Knight”

None of the CWGC links given for the rest of the crew on this next link show the original burial sites:
http://www.rafcommands.com/database/....php?qnum=1138


On this link: http://www.rwrwalker.ca/RAF_owned_JP100.html

Search for KB737. It mentions the plane crashed near "Bucketz" Germany which does not seem to be a real place. (Maybe it is suppose to be "Buchholz").

It does seem the plane was hit by flak over the target and with the tail turret (and probably part of the tail) blown off it probably could not get very far.
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