Banner




* Report: July 15th, 2023: The Belgians Parade to the London Cenotaph *

RAF aircraft's crash sites in Province of Limburg:
Meeuwen

* Return to the previous page *


Vers le site en français

Last update: 25/06/23


Elegy to
the Heroes of Silence


* To the 207 Squadron *
* To the crew of ME683 EM-W *
* To the monument erected in remembrance *
* Cemetery where rest the crew *

Crash site of Lancaster ME683 EM-W
22/06/1944

aircraft
cest raf squadron
Unit: 207 Squadron
Aircraft: Lancaster
Code: ME683 EM-W
Base: Spilby
Mission: Wesseling
Crew officer:
Incident: Shot down by German fighter

Location: (Prov. Limburg)

crash

Facts

On the night of Wednesday, 21/22 June Lancaster ME683 EM-W captained by Flying Officer Alvin Corless RCAF lifted from RAF Spilsby, its Lincolnshire base. After gaining height with twenty-one other aircraft from the squadron ME683 joined the main bomber stream, which consisted of fifteen Mosquitoes, mostly acting as pathfinders, and 156 Lancasters, the majority of which were from No 5 Group. The targets were the synthetic oil plant at Wesseling to the south of Cologne, and the Scholven refineries at Buer near Duisburg in the Rhur Valley.
The German night fighters were scrambled in good time and soon found their way into the main bomber stream, where their task was made easier than usual by a blanket of low cloud against which the bombers were silhouetted. Of the force bombing Wesseling 37 Lancasters were lost - more than a quarter of those who had set out, five of which were from 207 Squadron.
At approximately, 0130hrs, south west of the village of Meeuwen, Flying Officer Corless and his crew became involved in an air combat with Major Heinz Wolfgang Schnaufer of Geschwader NJG4 based at St Trond.

crash

First graves: L-R: F/O BA Somers RCAF, Bomb Aimer: F/O AV Corless RCAF, Pilot: Sgt JF Mireault RCAF, Air Gunner: Sgt KV Barnes, Flt Engineer; Sgt RE de Casagrande, Navigator: F/Sgt SR Bore, Wireless Operator: Sgt JI Magoffin RCAF, Air Gunner.

crash

The wooden crosses were later replaced with CWGC headstones and in the 1980s the graves were moved to the CWGC War Cemetery at Adegem (207 Sqd)

Sources:
207 Squadron
The International Bomber Command Centre (IBCC)
Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC)
Aircrew Remembered
ligne

Back to the top

logo
"The Belgians Remember Them" - Rue de Maulde, 2 - B/7830 HOVES (Silly), Belgique - Tel: +32/(0)479/245.148
Bank: BE97 0018 3886 3049 - BIC: GEBABEBB - Email: belgian.remember(at)gmail.com

Reproduction or distribution in any form of texts, lists and documents presented on this site is forbidden without the express authorization of the author
© Copyright "THE BELGIANS REMEMBER THEM" - 2017, all rights reserved - for all countries

Logo Wilfred Burie Webmastering Compteur.fr analytics