Crash Site Avro Lancaster ND715 PH-R

On 23 April 1944, Lancaster ND715 PH-R of the RAF 12th squadron crashed near this memorial. The aircraft had taken off from its base RAF Wickenby (Lincolshire) around 22:56 the previous evening with the aim of bombing industrial complexes in Dusseldorf.

The Lancaster was shot down on 23 April 1944 at about 01:07 am during a fight with a German night fighter about 100 km west of Dusseldorf. Debris from the aircraft was scattered over a large area leading to the assumption that it exploded in mid-air.

The crew consisted of:
Fl/Sgt James Harvey, RAF, Pilot, 23 years old
Fl/Sgt. Frederick William Barnett, RAF, Navigator, aged 27
Sgt Robert ‘Speedy’ Smith, RAF, Flight Engineer, 20 years
P/O Douglas Francis Malyon, RCAF, Bomb Aimer, 22 years
Sgt Clifford Henrey Thompson, RAF, Radio operator, 21 years
Sgt William Harbour, RAF, Rear gunner, 19 years
Fl/Sgt Rex Valentine Donowa, RAF, Tail gunner, 21 years

All crew members lost their lives in this crash and are buried in Schoonselhof cemetery .

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Source

• Text: TracesOfWar
• Photos: Jhonny Bastiaensen (1), Eric Dullaart (2)
• https://aircrewremembered.com/harvey-james.html