Personnel Index - Detail
Since a recovery operation now in Durnbach War Cemetery
From the panel at Runnymede
Two quite different images of Alexander Bone
16/17 April, 1943; PILZEN:
In the light of a full moon, 327 heavy bombers went after the Skoda armaments works. Aircraft from the squadron pressed home their attacks with great determination. Unfortunately the bombing photos brought back, showed the raid to have been a failure, with a large asylum building several miles away being mistaken for the factory. To make matters worse, the cost had been very high; 18 Halifaxes and 18 Lancaster crews failed to return.
F/O Alex Bone and crew on just their 2nd trip had tragically perished in the night and were presumed to have come down in the sea.
It is now known that the Lancaster crashed near Laumersheim in the Rhineland-Palatinate.
Loss info via Colin Cripps (Asso
Hit by 2./schw. Flak Abt. 636, 4./schw. Flak Abt. 492, 2 & 3./schw. Flak Abt 701, 1. & 3./schw. Flak Abt. 903 and 1.-3./schw. Flak Abt 499. Aircraft exploded in mid-air and hit the ground at Laummersheim at 02.37hrs. Aircraft mis-identified as a Halifax.
Lancaster ED427 (EA-O)
F/O A.V. Bone Pilot (Killed)
Sgt R.N.P. Foster F/E (Killed)
Sgt C.W. Yelland NAV (Killed)
Sgt R.C. White WAG (Killed)
Sgt R. Cope A/G (Killed)
Sgt R.J. Rooney B/A (Killed)
P/O B.E. Watt RCAF A/G (Killed)
Crew on their 2nd operation
Since 2009 a group of German historians have been researching a crashsite which they believe might be that of ED427.
In September 2012 an excavation took place and a significant number of aircraft parts and human remains were discovered.
These findings were from ED427.
The documents section has a detailed report on ED427 and her crew.