Operation: Villeneuve-Saint-Georges, France

Date: 4th/5th July 1944 (Tuesday/Wednesday)

Unit No: 419 (Moose) Squadron, RCAF, 6 Group, Bomber Command

Type: Lancaster X

Serial: KB723

Code: VR:U

Base: RAF Middleton St. George, County Durham

Location: Forêt de Fontainebleau, France

Pilot: Fg Off. Charles Albert Donald Steepe J26808 RCAF Age 21. Evader (1)

Flt Eng: Sgt. Joseph Paul Adelard Gauthier R171191 RCAF Age 23. KiA

Nav: Fg Off. Daniel George Murphy J29974 RCAF Age 22. Evader (1)

Bomb Aimer: Fg Off. William John Llewellyn Thomson J35076 RCAF Age 22. Evader (2)

WOp/Air Gnr: Fg Off. Gordon Ross Hodgson J24087 RCAF Age 20 KiA

Air Gnr (Mid Upp): Sgt. Bernard Albert Reaume R201470 RCAF Age 19. PoW No. 367 * (3)

Air Gnr (Rear): Sgt. Arthur Emerson Roe R252611 RCAF Age 19. KiA

* Stalag Luft 7 Bankau nr. Kreuzburg O.S." (O.S. standing for Oberschlesien, Upper Silesia). Today called Bąków nr. Kluczbork (Poland).

Above left to right: Sgt. Joseph P.A. Gauthier, Fg Off. Gordon R. Hodgson, Sgt. Arthur E. Roe - from their service records

REASON FOR LOSS:

On the 4th July 1944 15 aircraft from the squadron were tasked on a mission to bomb the railway yards at Villeneuve-Saint-Georges in the southern suburbs of Paris, France. Very heavy opposition was encountered, both from Flak and German night-fighters with the result that KB718 was one of 3 aircraft from the squadron that failed to return.

This crew were on their first operation. The pilot had previously undertaken his first as 2nd Pilot.

The other two aircraft that failed to return were:

Lancaster X KB727 VR:H (6 PoW, 1 Evd);

Lancaster X KB718 VR:U (3 PoW, 4 Evd).

KB723 or 419 Sqn Lancaster KB718 was claimed by Ofw. Heinrich Breitenfelder, his 1st Abschuss, from 5./NJG2, at Fontainebleau at 3.500 m. at 01:23 hrs. (Nachtjagd Combat Archive (12 May 1944 - 23 July 1944) Part 3 - Theo Boiten).

Ofw. Heinrich Breitenfelder survived the war. He was credited with a single Abschuss with a further two unconfirmed. (Nachtjagd Combat Archive - Biographies - Theo Boiten)

KB723 crashed about 3 km (1¾ mls) north of village of Fontainebleau in the Forêt de Fontainebleau at 01:30 hrs on the 5th July.

A joint statement by Fg Off. Steepe and Fg Off. Murphy described the loss of the aircraft:

‘After its initial rise the Lancaster maintained a pitching motion. The Pilot put the control column right forward to correct this motion, but it had no effect at all and he realised that he had lost all elevator control, though the aileron control was undamaged. He therefore gave the order to bale out at once.

The Bomb Aimer attempted to open the hatch but was unable to do so even when assisted by the Flight Engineer. It is possible that it had seized up as the fire had spread right under the nose compartment. With considerable presence of mind the Bomb Aimer seized an axe and chopped a hole through the Perspex in his position in the nose through which he jettisoned the bombsight.

The intercom may have become unserviceable after the order to bale out was given as the Pilot was unable to contact the Gunners, but the Navigator warned the Wireless Operator and believes he also heard the Rear Gunner say "Remove your helmets” so it is probable that these personnel left successfully from the rear.

It was now extremely hot in the fuselage and when the Navigator was thrown to the floor by the pitching of the aircraft as he made his way forwards he burnt his hands considerably. On account of the heat the Pilot was forced to leave his seat just as the Air Bomber finished chopping an exit, but flames did not actually spread into the fuselage until just before the Pilot left the aircraft.

As soon as he had prepared a sufficiently large exit the Bomber Aimer baled out, followed by the Fright Engineer. The latter had pulled the ripcord of his parachute inside the aircraft, but only the pilot chute came out and he gathered it up under his arms. His parachute was only clipped on one side when the Navigator pushed him head first through the hole after the Bomber Aimer. The Navigator then followed in the same attitude without any difficulty.

As soon as the Navigator had gone the Pilot, who was wearing a seat pack, tried to follow. As he made towards the hole the nose of the aircraft rose steeply and he was thrown backwards. He thought he was hopelessly trapped in the aircraft and for a few seconds sat quite still on the floor. Then either the pitching or stalling of the Lancaster or an explosion threw him out of the aircraft as the next thing he remembers is turning somersaults through the air. It took him some time to find the ripcord which he eventually pulled at about 4,000 ft. He landed comfortable on the ground in the forest of Fontainbleau, but suffered from cuts on the forehead and upper lip, presumably acquired when he was thrown from the aircraft.

The navigator landed in trees in the forest and was suspended about 30 ft. from the ground. He was unable to swing himself to a trunk so he took the fluorescein pack from his Mae West and tried it to the lifeline of the Mae West. With this improvised rope he attempted to lasso the nearest tree trunk. After many efforts which occupied about 10 mins he eventually managed to get a sufficient number of turns round the trunk to hold the rope fast. He then hauled himself in to the tree and released his parachute. In climbing down the trunk one of his legs became jammed in a crutch between two branches and he dislocated his knee in freeing himself.

Nothing was seen of the Lancaster by either informant after they baled out’.

(1) Fg Off. Murphy, who had suffered burns aboard the aircraft before baling out, provided the following statement for both himself and Fg Off Steepe in his Escape and Evasion Report:

‘I contacted Fg Off. Steepe, who had a suffered cuts to his lip and hand, 15 mins after I landed but we never found any of the others. We walked south for several hours and then rested. The next day at noon we started off again through the forest and came to a forester’s house.

We didn't want to approach it so we went on till we came to a cherry orchard where there were people picking the fruit. We asked them for help, and they took us back to the forester’s house. They then took us into Barbizon to an American woman.

This was Mme. Dorothy Tartiére - Dorothy Leyton was born in Kenosha, Wisconsin, in 1903. She spent most of her childhood in Mexico but as a young woman she moved back to America where she became an actress. She appeared in several screen and stage productions under the name of Drue Leyton.

In 1938 she married Jacques Tartiére who was a French liaison officer with the British Army. She moved to Paris and worked for a French radio station.

After the French surrendered to Germany in 1940, her husband left the country to join General Charles De Gaulle in England. Jacques Tartiére was killed while fighting for the Free French forces in Syria.

Dorothy could have returned to the United States but decided to stay and work for the French Resistance. She moved to Barbizon where she purchased a small farm. Over the next few years the farm was used to hide members of the resistance and soldiers and aircrew trying to get back to Britain.

She got a French nurse to dress our wounds, and then we went back to the forest to sleep for the night. The next day we were taken in a truck back to Barbizon where we stayed for a week in the house of a friend of the Mme. Tartiére.

They brought us a doctor from Fontainebleau, who sewed up Fg Off. Steepe's lip. Then the maid got nervous, and on 12th July we went over to the farm of the Mme. Tartiére where we stayed until 26th August when the Americans arrived’.

Charles Steepe’s brother, Fg Off. John Robert Steepe was posted Missing in Action (MiA) after his 410 (Cougar) Sqn, RCAF Mosquito NF.XIII HK463 failed to return from a night patrol on the 24th June 1944.

Fg Off. Murphy retired from the RCAF as a Sqn Ldr. Tragically Daniel George Murphy was a victim of AID’s which was contracted through a contaminated blood transfusion and passed away on the 29th May 1987 at the age of 65.

Daniel George Murphy 11th November 1921 - 29th May 1987

(2) Fg Off. Thomson was reported to have evaded capture and returned to Allied lines. However, the circumstances of his evasion are not known nor has an ‘Escape and Evasion Report’ for him been found.

(3) The circumstances leading to the capture of Sgt. Reaume are unknown. However, whilst a PoW he was appointed to a commission and promoted to J92347 Plt Off.

Above Courtesy of The Windsor Star, dated 11th July 1944

He was a PoW at Stalag Luft 7 so it is assumed that on the 19th January 1945, he was amongst 1,500 prisoners marched out of the camp in the bitter cold. They crossed a bridge over the river Oder on the 21st January, reached Goldberg on 5th February, and were loaded onto a train.

On the 8th February they reached Stalag 3A located about 52 km (32 mls) south of Berlin near Luckenwalde, which already held 20,000 prisoners, consisting mainly of soldiers from Britain, Canada, the US and Russia

During January and February 1945 PoWs from numerous other camps arrived and the camp eventually housed 45,942 PoWs, including 24,996 French, 12,517 Soviet, 4,093 Serbian, 1,499 American, 1,433 British, 1,310 Italian, 86 Polish and 8 Romanian.

On the 22nd April 1945 the guards fled the camp in the face of the advancing Russians leaving the prisoners to be liberated by the Red Army.

Stalag 3A was turned over to the Americans on the 6th May at which time the Senior American Officers (SAO) took over the running of the camp until all the PoWs were evacuated.

Burial details:

A German official Totenliste states that Fg Off. Hodgson, Sgt, Roe and Sgt. Gauthier were initially buried on the 6th July 1944, in graves numbered 15 -17 respectively in the Parish Cemetery at Réau, which is some 20 km (12½ mls) north of the crash site. They were recovered and finally laid to rest in the Clichy Northern Cemetery.

Above Clichy Northern Cemetery (Courtesy of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission)

Sgt. Joseph Paul Adelard Gauthier. Clichy Northern Cemetery, Plot 16, Row 13, Grave 4. Born on the 9th February 1921 in Montreal, Quebec. Son of Adelard and Irene (née Provost) Gauthier.. Husband to Marguerite (née Beaudet) Gauthier of Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

Fg Off. Gordon Ross Hodgson. Clichy Northern Cemetery, Plot 16, Row 13, Grave 15. Grave Inscription: ‘LOVE'S GREATEST GIFT, REMEMBRANCE. WIFE DOREEN AND LOVED ONES’. Born on the 17th October 1923 in Toronto, Ontario. Son of Harry and Violet Elizabeth (née Boyce) Hodgson of Toronto, Ontario. Husband of Pansy Doreen (née Halkes) Hodgson of Toronto, Canada.

Plt Off. Arthur Emerson Roe. Clichy Northern Cemetery, Plot 16, Row 13, Grave 4. Born on the 10th August 1924 in Vancouver, British Columbia. Son of Arthur and Eileen Bertha (née Dunn) Roe of Oakland, California, USA.

Sgt. Roe was posthumously appointed to a commission and promoted to J93741 Plt Off. with effect 3rd July 1944.

Researched by Ralph Snape for Aircrew Remembered and dedicated to the relatives of this crew.

Other sources listed below:

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