Archive Report: Allied Forces

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432 Squadron Lancaster II DS831 QO-N F/O. William Charles Fisher

Operation: Berlin

Date: 16/17th December 1943 (Thursday/Friday)

Unit: No. 432 Squadron (motto: Saeviter ad Lucem - Ferociously towards the light) 6 Group

Type: Lancaster II

Serial: DS831

Code: QO-N

Base: RAF East Moor, North Yorkshire, England

Location: Between Wijtgaard and Weidum, Holland

Pilot: W/O. (USA - Flight Officer). William Charles Fisher T/190910 USAAF Age 22. Killed

Pilot 2: Sgt. Owen Donald Lewis R/55041 RCAF Age 23. PoW No: 43348 Camp: Stalag Luft Bankau-Kreuzburg (Klucsbork, Poland) (1)

Fl/Eng: Sgt. Raymond Hughes 1808927 RAFVR Age 19. Killed

Nav: Fl/Sgt. James Stuart Briegel R/113427 RCAF Age 28. Killed

Air/Bmr: Fl/Sgt. Thomas Walter Pragnell 1219197 RAFVR Age 22. Killed

W/Op/Air/Gnr: Fl/Sgt. Montagu Brudell AUS/413340 RAAF Age 21. PoW No: 267440 Camp: Stalag Mühlberg-Elbe (2)

W/Op/Air/Gnr: W/O. Raymond Kenneth Saunders AUS/406814 RAAF Age 23. Killed

Air/Gnr: Fl/Sgt. Herbert Albert Turner R/18079 RCAF Age 24. Killed

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A PDF file on with comprehensive research into this loss has been compiled by a Dutch student, Mr. Marcel N. Huizenga - available for download, please contact us. The grandson of the pilot contacted us in August 2014.

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REASON FOR LOSS:

Took off from RAF East Moor at 16:29 hrs. The raid consisted of 483 Lancasters and 10 Mosquitoes with a further 5 Mosquitoes being used to drop decoy flares south of Berlin.

The German night-fighter controllers plotted the bomber stream with great accuracy. Fierce fighting incurred during the run in and also over the target area with many Lancaster's engaging the night fighters. 19 Lancasters were lost on this raid by this action alone. But the real tragedy of the night came when the remainder of the force returned home.

They managed to shake off the night fighters by taking a much more northerly route over Denmark using up precious fuel - many of the bases were covered in very low cloud. As a result a further 16 Lancasters were lost (Some reports state 29 Lancasters lost in this way) in crashes and collisions with approximately 156 aircrew killed and 39 injured.Lancaster DS831 was shot down at 6,000 mtrs. by a night-fighter, Obit Heinz-Wolfgang Schnaufer, (3) 12/NJG1, crashing between Wijtgaard and Weidum (Friesland some 7 km south of Leeuwarden, Holland at 18:41 hrs.

Memorial to the crew at Leeuwarden Protestant Churchyard

After the war, at a ceremony to mark the 50th Anniversary of the crash, Jack Pragnell, twin brother to Thomas met one of the survivors of the crew who told him that a decision was made to guide the plane to an area away from the town (as they had a full bomb load) to cause the least damage to the town, a decision that would cause 6 of the crew to lose their lives. Flying Officer Fisher rests in the United States Military cemetery at Neuville-en-Condroz Cemetery in Belgium, while his five crew rest in the Leeuwarden Protestant Churchyard

Above L-R: Feldwebel Rumpelhardt, Oberleutnant Schnaufer and Oberfeldwebel Gänzler.

(note) During the early hours of 8th October 1943 at 04:16 hrs some of this crew were returned from Hannover. (P/O. Fisher, Sgt. Briegel, Sgt. Pragnell, Fl/Sgt. Brudel,l W/O. Saunders, P/O. Legace)

The Wellington X HZ484 had been attacked twice by JU88's and suffered some damage.
The rear gunner Australian W/O. Saunders shot down the enemy aircraft and it was seen to crash.
HZ484 was lost on the 27th January 1944 whilst with 84 Operational Training Unit. The 27 year old pilot, Sq/Ldr. James Hughes Kirton 41771 RAFVR was killed with al 5 other crew. The aircraft dived into the ground and exploded on impact at Arthingworth, Northamptonshire, England

Combat Report from W/O. Saunders:

Wellington aircraft QO-N' Serial No. HZ484 of 432 Squadron had two encounters with enemy aircraft identified as Ju.88. In both encountered visibility was impaired by the brilliance of flares. There was no cloud.:
The first encounter was on run up to target at 160 mph. on heading of 1959, height of 18,500 feet, at 01:36 hours. Enemy aircraft was first sighted by the Rear Gunner at 700 yards on the starboard quarter down. It climbed and came in on fine quarter, starboard, and opened fire with a short burst.
As soon as the Rear Gunner/ opened fire the enemy aircraft broke away at 500 yards range to port quarter dome, and it was not seen again. The Wellington was not damage, and no hits were observed on the enemy aircraft.
The Ju. 88 appeared to be firing cannon only.
At O1:41 hours, four minutes after release of bombs, while on heading of 240° at height of 18,000 feet, 160 mphRear Gunner sighted a Ju. 88 500 feet do, travelling from port bow to starboard quarter.
The enemy aircraft turned to attack from starboard quarter on same level at 900 yards range. When enemy aircraft had closed in to 700 yards the Rear Gunner opened fire with a short burst and instructed the Pilot to corkscrew starboard. As the Wellington went into diving tin, the enemy aircraft opened fire and tracer passed wide to starboard.The Ju. 88 followed Bomber into corkscrew, firing continually with tracer going to port. he Rear Gunner opened fire again at 600 yards and held a long burst as fighter closed in. As Bomber began climb to port, the enemy aircraft had closed in to 300 yards and the Rear Gunner saw his tracer hitting the fighter.

Part of the enemy's port wing appeared to break off, port wing dropped and port engine caught fire. The Rear Cunner gave the fighter another short burst as it fell blazing and smoking to port. The blazing enemy aircraft was seen to hit the ground and explode by the Rear Gunner, and the Wireless Operator who was in the astro domes
It is claimed as definitely destroyed.
Damage to the Wellington in nil The Gunner fired approximately 1,500 rounds. His left gun suffered a stoppage but he immediately cleared it.without further incident. Load carried 1 x 4,0001b H.E.

Right: Extensive research has been carried out on this loss by a Dutch student Mr. Marcel Huizenga.
Copies of this are available to relatives and other interested parties by contacting us. Use of this report is subject to agreement.

(1) Sgt. Owen Donald Lewis, husband of Joyce Ford of of Port Neuf Village, Quebec, passed away on the 13th March 2012 in Ottawa aged 91 of natural causes.

Obituary: Globe and Mail Published 27th August 2012

Written by Jonina Wood, Owen's friend.

RCAF pilot, inventor, husband, great-grandfather, man of ideas. Born May 10, 1920, in Sherbrooke, Que., died March 13, 2012, in Ottawa of natural causes, aged 91.
I remember O.D. sitting in his comfortable, west-end Ottawa home, CBC Radio on his headset, books stacked around him – everything from Jung to Stephen Hawking.
He was a thinker, was Owen Donald Lewis, and his was the world of ideas. Even though he couldn't walk by the end, he still ranged the planet, indeed the cosmos.

"When I'm dead," he quipped one day, "I want you to send my ashes into outer space … it'll be my 'orbituary.'"
When the Second World War broke out, O.D. was hell-bent on making pilot with the Royal Canadian Air Force. Photographs show a tall youngster of 19 with a steady gaze, slim as a blade of grass. Not the look of someone ready for war. But O.D. made it.

In 2009, CBC Radio chronicled his odyssey in a moving tribute by his daughter, Ideas producer Jane Lewis, called My Father's Story.
Shot down by the Luftwaffe, badly hurt, O.D. convinced a German doctor not to "saw off" his leg. Later, confined to a PoW camp, he read the only book available – the Bible – three times over, though he remained a confirmed atheist. "Great read," he said.
O.D. was barely 94 pounds at war's end, but resilient enough to make it to the side of his childhood sweetheart, Joyce Ford, a gorgeous Navy Wren decoder. They would be married for 64 years.
In 1949, O.D. landed a job at the hectic Ottawa Post Office, where tidal waves of mail were sweeping in. He had an idea. Inspired by the new electronics, he envisaged a machine that could read a printed code, and by 1957 had made it happen. The Electrical Sortation Machine was a marvel of its day; it put Canada on the world map.

O.D.'s next target was the cigarette. He joined the Department of Health, becoming a national health activist. Again he had an idea. He would not target smokers; he would target the smoke itself. It was an ingenious concept, and largely why Canadians today enjoy smoke-free spaces.
Meanwhile, at home, Joyce was the loving, elegant, ever-giving centre of his life and that of their seven daughters, while O.D. was the caring but rigorous dad, urging the girls to find and realize their talents. He was also a surrogate dad to many, and all were welcome at the Lewis home, where Joyce served them freshly baked scones and pots and pots of English tea.
O.D lived a passionate life of the mind to the end. He read voraciously. He loved an argument. He kept his sense of humour.
"Why, yer just as ugly as ever," he'd grin when I came to visit, and I took that as a great compliment. I wanted to return it, along with the many books he gave me. I'm sending them to outer space, O.D. Enjoy.

(2) Fl/Sgt. Montagu Anthony Thomas Brudell: (later W/O.) Born on the 14th January 1923 in Sydney, New South Wakes, Australia.Enlisted on the 17th August 1941 Husband of Ivy Rhoda Brudell. Accidentally killed on the 27th April 1957, age just 34. Son of Thomas Harold Brudell (died 1963, age70) and Bridget Elizabeth (née Hourigan - died 1978, age 86) Brudell brother of Joan Elizabeth Brudell (died 2007, age 90) of Killara, New South Wales, Australia.
Epitaph: 'In loving memory of SGT Montague Anthony Brudell. Accidentally killed 27th April 1957, aged 34 years. Beloved husband of Ivy, father of Penny and Karl R.I.P'.
Buried in Rookwood Catholic Cemeteries and Crematoria. New South Wales, Australia. Section: Mortuary 2, Area#: 20, Plot 1167.

(3) This was the 40th claim by Obit Heinz-Wolfgang Schnaufer. He went on to obtain a total of an amazing 121 to his credit. Survived the war. He sustained injuries in a road accident on the 13th July 1950 during a wine-purchasing visit to France, and died in a Bordeaux hospital two days later.

Pleas click here for grave and other images

Burial details:

F/O. William Charles Fisher. Ardennes American Cemetery and Memorial, Neuville-en-Condroz Cemetery, Liege, Belgium. Plot C. Row 7. Grave 50. Born on the 30th March 192, from Missouri, USA. Had wanted to become an engineer but due to the war, enlisted in the RCAF as a lot of his family were living there. His wife was 8 months pregnant at the time. Son of William Aldred Fisher, and Octavia LaVinia (née Shepherd)

Sgt. Raymond Hughes.Hughes. Leeuwarden (Huizum) Protestant Churchyard Row 10.Grave 5. Born on the 20th July 1924 in Bangor, Gwynedd, Wales, the son of David and Annie M. Hughes of Bangor, Caernarvonshire, Wales. Epitaph: "For Honour, Liberty And Truth He Sacrificed His Glorious Youth".

Fl/Sgt. James Stuart Briegel. Leeuwarden (Huizum) Protestant Churchyard Row 10.Grave 4. Born on the 09th March 1915, in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada the son of Francis James and the late Bella Niven Briegel (née Nicol) of Olds, Alberta, Canada. At the time of enlistment on 20 June 1940 he was employed as a bookkeeper for Innisfree Motors Limited in Innisfree, Alberta, Canada.

Sgt. Thomas Walter Pragnell. Leeuwarden (Huizum) Protestant Churchyard Row 10.Grave 1. Born on the 03rd November 1921 in Northampton, England the son of George and Sarah Ann Pragnell and twin brother of Jack and brother of Elsie, Noreen, Stan and Doris Pragnell.of Northampton. Before enlisting he worked at Mansfield’s Shoe Factory in Northampton. His twin brother Jack was also a bomb aimer in the RAF. Grave: Epitaph: "He Gave His All To Save Civilisation. His Sacrifice Must Not Be In Vain".

W/O. Raymond Kenneth Saunders. Leeuwarden (Huizum) Protestant Churchyard Row 10.Grave 3. Born on the 26th June 1920 in Guildford, City of Swan, Western Australia, Australia, the son of Herbert Earl (died 1967, age 71) and Lilian Helen Saunders (née walsh - died 1935, age 38) of 32 Helena Street, East Guildford, Western Australia. Epitaph: "Ever Remembered".

Fl/Sgt. Herbert Albert Turner. Leeuwarden (Huizum) Protestant Churchyard Row 10.Grave 2. Born on the 13th April 1919 in London, Ontario, Canada, the son of Herbert and Edith Turner of London, Ontario, Canada. Epitaph: "Your Knightly Virtue Proved, Your Memory Hallowed In The Land You Loved".

Researched by Aircrew Remembered, researcher and specialist genealogist Linda Ibrom for relatives of this crew. Photo credits to Jenny Maguire and Jack Pragnell. Also thanks to David Champion for further information - December 2017. Thanks to Mr. Maurice Huizenga for his in depth extra research, his extensive report is available to relatives and other interested parties by contacting us. Use of this report is subject to agreement. Ron Briegel (nephew of W/O Briege) National Archives Kew, AIR-27-127-21/22 and AIR-50-2, AIR-50-260-07, AIR-50-260 -11, Government od Canada WW2 Archives, Nation al Archives Australia, Paradie RCAF Archives, Paul McGuinnes Australian Archives, Kracker Luftwaffe Archive. The Globe and Mail.Researched by Aircrew Cathie Lewi, daughter of Sgt. Owen Donald Lewis contacted us on the 05th January 2026.

Other sources as quoted below:

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