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| View Original: | 458 Squadron RAAF aircrew Dec 1941 AWM P05660.001.jpg (640x401) | |||
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| Keywords: 458 Squadron RAAF aircrew Dec 1941 AWM P05660.001.jpg AWM caption Group portrait of the crew of K for Kitty 458 Squadron RAAF after a raid <br> Identified left to right 404455 Sergeant Sgt James Howard Rupe Holmes captain of Brisbane Qld 404611 Sgt Sven Ivanouw Hansen 2nd pilot of Brisbane Qld 1261126 Sgt Les H Empson RAF front gunner 407199 Sgt Robert McKerlie Bob Croft rear gunner of Adelaide SA probably 404343 Sgt Norman Henry Kobelke observer of Brisbane Qld originally of Bulawayo Rhodesia 1283720 Sgt Ken A Cousins RAF wireless operator Croft was later lost on operations whilst flying with 463 Squadron RAAF The accident report describes the events Lancaster LL882 took off from RAF Waddington at 2200 hours on the night of 10/11th May 1944 to bomb the marshalling yards at Lille France Bomb load 1 x 4000lb and 16 x 500lb bombs Nothing was heard from the aircraft after take off and it did not return to base Fourteen aircraft from the Squadron took part in the raid and three of these including LL882 failed to return Post war it was established that the aircraft was shot down by a night fighter and dived into an old waterlogged clay pit at the Dumoulin brickworks some 2kms west of Langemark West-Vlaanderen and about 8kms north of Ieper Ypres All the crew were killed and they are buried in the Wevelgem Communal Cemetery which is located about 22kms east of Ieper a town centre on the Meenseweg NB connecting Ieper to Menin Wevelgem and Kortrijk Belgium The crew were RAAF 402817 Sqn Ldr M Powell DFC Captain Pilot ; RAF FO Jaques R Navigator ; RAF Flt Sgt B Fraser Bomb Aimer ; RAAF 406700 Flt Lt Read W N Wireless Operator Air Gunner ; RAF Sgt H L Molyneux Flight Engineer ; RAAF 407199 FO Croft R McK Air Gunner ; RAAF 407821 FO Croston D P Air Gunner P05660 001 1941-12 author Copyright expired - public domain PD-AustraliaGov World War II people of the Royal Australian Air Force Vickers Wellington aircrew Vickers Wellington in Australian service Vickers Wellington B Mark IV RAF Holme-on-Spalding Moor World War II forces of Australia in the United Kingdom No 458 Squadron RAAF | ||||
