Personnel Index - Detail
Image kindly provided by Sue Bannell
Part of the panel at Runnymede
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 (Association Researcher)
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
The documents section has a detailed report on ED427 and her crew,