Takeoff at 20:31 hrs for an operation to Aachen in Germany.
Homeward-bound, the aircraft was shot down by night fighter pilot Oberleutnant Heinz-Wolfgang Schnaufer of the Stab IV./NJG 1, who had become airborne from St Trond (Sint-Truiden) airfield at 22:08 hrs, in Bf 110 G-4 G9+DF.
Pilot Officer Cliff Coward was able to leave the burning Lancaster in the last minute. When his parachute opened, the flying boots slid off his feet. He knocked down unusually hard in a meadow. When the navigator regained consciousness, he dragged himself with his last strength to a tree. He died a lonely death there. The next morning, Cliff's lifeless body was found at the root of that same tree.
Source: Aviation Safety
The crew of LL899-EA-P (49 Sqd Asociation)