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Allied Air Forces Losses and Incidents Database.

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NOTE ON DATES: IMPORTANT: For consistency, the Date is given as the date the mission TOOK OFF since the precise time of a loss is not always certain. Take Off date is unambigous and fixed in the official records, but obviously in those cases where the incident occurred before midnight UK time, then the Take Off Date will be the same as the Incident Date. Of course, most Bomber Command missions flew through midnight, therefore a Luftwaffe claim against a plane - or a locally generated crash report - may record the incident as occurring on the day following our Take Off Date. Bear this in mind when cross-referencing to our Luftwaffe Victories by Name/Date Database and other Luftwaffe sources. In some cases other sources may quote the date following our date, using locally generated reports as their source. To add to the potential for confusion, remember to take into account a Luftwaffe recorded date will be in local time, 1 hour ahead of UK time. When we discover a validated Incident Date we change our record if necessary



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Thanks to Personnel of the Polish Air Force in Great Britain for supplementary data and images (marked with a chequerboard device) related to the Polish Air Force, and many images courtesy of our respected colleagues Wojtek Matusiak and Robert Gretzyngier. Other images from our own archives.
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Polish Air Force personnel have a supplementary database containing more information and many more entries. Check the following:
Personel Polskich Sił Powietrznych posiada dodatkową bazę danych zawierającą więcej informacji i wiele innych wpisów. Sprawdź następujące elementy:
Archiwum: PSP 1939 -1947 Database 17,000+ Polish Air Force Entries
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Enter Your search conditions and click Search This (to Search for Squadron append 'Sqn' e.g. 602Sqn. In Archiwum use Polish form e.g. 303DM)

These are the results of your search:

You searched for: “ME840”

#Name*First NamesTitleRankRAF Equivalent RankService No.BornNationalityRoleAwardsAir ForceCommandUnitDateofIncident *See NoteAircraftTypeSerialCodeVictories (Fighters)BaseTimeMission                        Incident                        FateCommemoratedPhoto (Click to Expand)Referring Database                        Notes                        Links/Archive Reports
1 BergJohn JosephFlying Officer1295511921NavigatorDFC

RAFVRBomber Command550 Sqn
1944-06-16LancasterIME840BQ:VNorth Killingholme23:05Synthetic Oil Plant SterkradeClaim by Oblt Josef Nabrich 3/NJG1 - FF Kurfurst Kleve area: 6,000m at 01:49. Same claim as Oblt George Fengler Stab IV/NJG1 4,000m at 01:51. Both confirmed as full victories on 7/10/44. (Nachtjagd Combat Archives 1944 Part 3 - Theo Boiten). Crashed near Varsseveld 12km ESE of Doetinches.KilledWisch (Varsseveld) General Cemetery Plot A Collective Grave 12-14.19 a/c from the Sqn took off without incident, but one aircraft was forced to abandon the mission when the port inner engine became unserviceable. The night was cloudy, and some icing problems were encountered. Ahead of the main bomber force, Pathfinder aircraft had dropped markers (target illuminators). Flak at the target was moderate to intense and night fighters were active in the area. Lancaster ME840 was late leaving the target and fell behind the rest of the bomber stream, losing any mutual protection from concentrated gunfire of the other aircraft, but also became exposed to enemy radar by losing the protection of ‘window’ dropped by other bombers. Somewhere near the Netherlands/German border, Lancaster ME840 was hit by a burst from a night fighter which hit their No 2 engine and petrol tank. No 1 petrol tank then caught fire. Fg Off Kay, the flight engineer, jettisoned the forward escape hatch, stopped No 2 engine and operated the extinguishers in vain. Smith ordered the crew to put on their parachutes, but before they could, the petrol tank exploded. The aircraft came down near Varssveld, north west of Aalten in The Netherlands. It had lost a tailpiece and part of a wing. (Made in Perth)

Fg Off Berg was awarded the DFC whilst with 100 Squadron. Gazetted 12 November 1943

Son of Sidney and Sarah Berg; husband of Frances Berg, of Grimsby, Lincolnshire.
2 HeathJamesPilot OfficerJ200026th October 1913 in TorontoCanadianAir Gunner (Rear)RCAFBomber Command550 Sqn
1944-06-16LancasterIME840BQ:VNorth Killingholme23:05Synthetic Oil Plant SterkradeClaim by Oblt Josef Nabrich 3/NJG1 - FF Kurfurst Kleve area: 6,000m at 01:49. Same claim as Oblt George Fengler Stab IV/NJG1 4,000m at 01:51. Both confirmed as full victories on 7/10/44. (Nachtjagd Combat Archives 1944 Part 3 - Theo Boiten). Crashed near Varsseveld 12km ESE of Doetinches.KilledWisch (Varsseveld) General Cemetery Plot A Grave 11
Paradie Archive Database19 a/c from the Sqn took off without incident, but one aircraft was forced to abandon the mission when the port inner engine became unserviceable. The night was cloudy, and some icing problems were encountered. Ahead of the main bomber force, Pathfinder aircraft had dropped markers (target illuminators). Flak at the target was moderate to intense and night fighters were active in the area. Lancaster ME840 was late leaving the target and fell behind the rest of the bomber stream, losing any mutual protection from concentrated gunfire of the other aircraft, but also became exposed to enemy radar by losing the protection of ‘window’ dropped by other bombers. Somewhere near the Netherlands/German border, Lancaster ME840 was hit by a burst from a night fighter which hit their No 2 engine and petrol tank. No 1 petrol tank then caught fire. Fg Off Kay, the flight engineer, jettisoned the forward escape hatch, stopped No 2 engine and operated the extinguishers in vain. Smith ordered the crew to put on their parachutes, but before they could, the petrol tank exploded. The aircraft came down near Varssveld, north west of Aalten in The Netherlands. It had lost a tailpiece and part of a wing. (Made in Perth)

Son of Mr. and Mrs. James Heath, and stepson of Viola Banks, of Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
3 KayRoyFlying Officer53558Flight EngineerRAFBomber Command550 Sqn
1944-06-16LancasterIME840BQ:VNorth Killingholme23:05Synthetic Oil Plant SterkradeClaim by Oblt Josef Nabrich 3/NJG1 - FF Kurfurst Kleve area: 6,000m at 01:49. Same claim as Oblt George Fengler Stab IV/NJG1 4,000m at 01:51. Both confirmed as full victories on 7/10/44. (Nachtjagd Combat Archives 1944 Part 3 - Theo Boiten). Crashed near Varsseveld 12km ESE of DoetincheEvader19 a/c from the Sqn took off without incident, but one aircraft was forced to abandon the mission when the port inner engine became unserviceable. The night was cloudy, and some icing problems were encountered. Ahead of the main bomber force, Pathfinder aircraft had dropped markers (target illuminators). Flak at the target was moderate to intense and night fighters were active in the area. Lancaster ME840 was late leaving the target and fell behind the rest of the bomber stream, losing any mutual protection from concentrated gunfire of the other aircraft, but also became exposed to enemy radar by losing the protection of ‘window’ dropped by other bombers. Somewhere near the Netherlands/German border, Lancaster ME840 was hit by a burst from a night fighter which hit their No 2 engine and petrol tank. No 1 petrol tank then caught fire. Fg Off Kay, the flight engineer, jettisoned the forward escape hatch, stopped No 2 engine and operated the extinguishers in vain. Smith ordered the crew to put on their parachutes, but before they could, the petrol tank exploded. The aircraft came down near Varssveld, north west of Aalten in The Netherlands. It had lost a tailpiece and part of a wing. (Made in Perth)

At 01.30 hrs, Kay was standing next to Smith when he was blown out of the aircraft. The next thing Kay knew was that he was falling. Regaining consciousness, he managed to pull his ripcord and open his parachute. Lancaster ME840 had exploded, he was the only survivor. When he landed in an enclosed field, Kay was bleeding a bit from superficial wounds in the left arm and knee and his right boot had fallen off. Thinking he had landed further west than he did, he headed south, back towards the German border. On the morning of the 19th he met a farmer who gave him food and put him in touch with the Dutch underground movement. He was then moved to The Hague where he stayed for 40 days before being transferred to the Belgian underground. Here he stayed until 19 September 1944 when the Americans overran the area. (Made in Perth)
4 PulfreyLeslieFlying Officer14488691915Bomb AimerRAFVRBomber Command550 Sqn
1944-06-16LancasterIME840BQ:VNorth Killingholme23:05Synthetic Oil Plant SterkradeClaim by Oblt Josef Nabrich 3/NJG1 - FF Kurfurst Kleve area: 6,000m at 01:49. Same claim as Oblt George Fengler Stab IV/NJG1 4,000m at 01:51. Both confirmed as full victories on 7/10/44. (Nachtjagd Combat Archives 1944 Part 3 - Theo Boiten). Crashed near Varsseveld 12km ESE of Doetinches.KilledWisch (Varsseveld) General Cemetery Plot A Grave 1519 a/c from the Sqn took off without incident, but one aircraft was forced to abandon the mission when the port inner engine became unserviceable. The night was cloudy, and some icing problems were encountered. Ahead of the main bomber force, Pathfinder aircraft had dropped markers (target illuminators). Flak at the target was moderate to intense and night fighters were active in the area. Lancaster ME840 was late leaving the target and fell behind the rest of the bomber stream, losing any mutual protection from concentrated gunfire of the other aircraft, but also became exposed to enemy radar by losing the protection of ‘window’ dropped by other bombers. Somewhere near the Netherlands/German border, Lancaster ME840 was hit by a burst from a night fighter which hit their No 2 engine and petrol tank. No 1 petrol tank then caught fire. Fg Off Kay, the flight engineer, jettisoned the forward escape hatch, stopped No 2 engine and operated the extinguishers in vain. Smith ordered the crew to put on their parachutes, but before they could, the petrol tank exploded. The aircraft came down near Varssveld, north west of Aalten in The Netherlands. It had lost a tailpiece and part of a wing. (Made in Perth)

Son of John and Florrie Pulfrey, of Sheffield.
5 SmithGavin StrangSquadron Leader1085431922DFC

RAFVRBomber Command550 Sqn
1944-06-16LancasterIME840BQ:VNorth Killingholme23:05Synthetic Oil Plant SterkradeClaim by Oblt Josef Nabrich 3/NJG1 - FF Kurfurst Kleve area: 6,000m at 01:49. Same claim as Oblt George Fengler Stab IV/NJG1 4,000m at 01:51. Both confirmed as full victories on 7/10/44. (Nachtjagd Combat Archives 1944 Part 3 - Theo Boiten). Crashed near Varsseveld 12km ESE of Doetinches.KilledWisch (Varsseveld) General Cemetery Plot A Grave 10.19 a/c from the Sqn took off without incident, but one aircraft was forced to abandon the mission when the port inner engine became unserviceable. The night was cloudy, and some icing problems were encountered. Ahead of the main bomber force, Pathfinder aircraft had dropped markers (target illuminators). Flak at the target was moderate to intense and night fighters were active in the area. Lancaster ME840 was late leaving the target and fell behind the rest of the bomber stream, losing any mutual protection from concentrated gunfire of the other aircraft, but also became exposed to enemy radar by losing the protection of ‘window’ dropped by other bombers. Somewhere near the Netherlands/German border, Lancaster ME840 was hit by a burst from a night fighter which hit their No 2 engine and petrol tank. No 1 petrol tank then caught fire. Fg Off Kay, the flight engineer, jettisoned the forward escape hatch, stopped No 2 engine and operated the extinguishers in vain. Smith ordered the crew to put on their parachutes, but before they could, the petrol tank exploded. The aircraft came down near Varssveld, north west of Aalten in The Netherlands. It had lost a tailpiece and part of a wing. (Made in Perth)

Sqn Ldr Smith was awarded the DFC whilst with 142 Squadron. Gazetted 29 December 1942

Son of Robert and Marion Leiper Smith, of Perth
6 TizardSt JohnFlight Lieutenant112026October 1921 in Hendon, Greater LondonAir Gunner (Mid Upper) (Sqn Gunnery Leader)RAFVRBomber Command550 Sqn
1944-06-16LancasterIME840BQ:VNorth Killingholme23:05Synthetic Oil Plant SterkradeClaim by Oblt Josef Nabrich 3/NJG1 - FF Kurfurst Kleve area: 6,000m at 01:49. Same claim as Oblt George Fengler Stab IV/NJG1 4,000m at 01:51. Both confirmed as full victories on 7/10/44. (Nachtjagd Combat Archives 1944 Part 3 - Theo Boiten). Crashed near Varsseveld 12km ESE of Doetinches.KilledWisch (Varsseveld) General Cemetery Plot A Collective Grave 12-14.19 a/c from the Sqn took off without incident, but one aircraft was forced to abandon the mission when the port inner engine became unserviceable. The night was cloudy, and some icing problems were encountered. Ahead of the main bomber force, Pathfinder aircraft had dropped markers (target illuminators). Flak at the target was moderate to intense and night fighters were active in the area. Lancaster ME840 was late leaving the target and fell behind the rest of the bomber stream, losing any mutual protection from concentrated gunfire of the other aircraft, but also became exposed to enemy radar by losing the protection of ‘window’ dropped by other bombers. Somewhere near the Netherlands/German border, Lancaster ME840 was hit by a burst from a night fighter which hit their No 2 engine and petrol tank. No 1 petrol tank then caught fire. Fg Off Kay, the flight engineer, jettisoned the forward escape hatch, stopped No 2 engine and operated the extinguishers in vain. Smith ordered the crew to put on their parachutes, but before they could, the petrol tank exploded. The aircraft came down near Varssveld, north west of Aalten in The Netherlands. It had lost a tailpiece and part of a wing. (Made in Perth)

His mother’s maiden name was Dawe.
7 TownsendRalphFlight Sergeant10785791921Wireless Operator/Air GunnerDFM

RAFVRBomber Command550 Sqn
1944-06-16LancasterIME840BQ:VNorth Killingholme23:05Synthetic Oil Plant SterkradeClaim by Oblt Josef Nabrich 3/NJG1 - FF Kurfurst Kleve area: 6,000m at 01:49. Same claim as Oblt George Fengler Stab IV/NJG1 4,000m at 01:51. Both confirmed as full victories on 7/10/44. (Nachtjagd Combat Archives 1944 Part 3 - Theo Boiten). Crashed near Varsseveld 12km ESE of Doetinches.KilledWisch (Varsseveld) General Cemetery Plot A Collective Grave 12-1419 a/c from the Sqn took off without incident, but one aircraft was forced to abandon the mission when the port inner engine became unserviceable. The night was cloudy, and some icing problems were encountered. Ahead of the main bomber force, Pathfinder aircraft had dropped markers (target illuminators). Flak at the target was moderate to intense and night fighters were active in the area. Lancaster ME840 was late leaving the target and fell behind the rest of the bomber stream, losing any mutual protection from concentrated gunfire of the other aircraft, but also became exposed to enemy radar by losing the protection of ‘window’ dropped by other bombers. Somewhere near the Netherlands/German border, Lancaster ME840 was hit by a burst from a night fighter which hit their No 2 engine and petrol tank. No 1 petrol tank then caught fire. Fg Off Kay, the flight engineer, jettisoned the forward escape hatch, stopped No 2 engine and operated the extinguishers in vain. Smith ordered the crew to put on their parachutes, but before they could, the petrol tank exploded. The aircraft came down near Varssveld, north west of Aalten in The Netherlands. It had lost a tailpiece and part of a wing. (Made in Perth)

Flt Sgt Townsend was awarded the DFM whilst with 460 (RAAF) Squadron. Gazetted 10 December 1943

Son of William H. and Gladys Townsend, of Emley, Yorkshire.

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