On Friday 27 August 1943, a Lancaster Mk
III took off from RAF Langar, near Nottingham, to bomb targets in the
city of Nurnberg in Germany.
The aircraft, ED627 with the markings EM-N of No 207 Squadron, took off
at 21.29pm and headed south towards Beachy Head, across France and on
deep into Germany. For some of the crew it was to be their 13th
operation, an operation from which none of them were to return.
The seven crew members were:
PO. Arthur Marcus Fitzgerald - Pilot,
aged 20
Sgt. Cyril Herbert Pratt - Navigator, aged 20
Sgt. Sydney James Mitchell - Flight Engineer, aged 38
Sgt. William Walter George Addison - WOp/AG, aged 21
Sgt. Henry Albert Toomey - Bomb Aimer, aged 22
Sgt. Stephen Preston - Air Gunner (Mid Upper), aged 20
Sgt. John Goodwin - Air Gunner (Rear), aged 20
On this evening John Goodwin took off as a 20yr old and died as a 21yr
old as it was the eve of his 21st birthday.
No 207 Squadron - RAF Langar
June 1943
In June 1943 this crew was posted to No 207 Squadron at RAF Langar
near Nottingham. Here they took part in their first operation over
Germany on 12 June 1943 to Bochum in Lancaster EM-D (ED498). Over the
next weeks in June they completed 3 further operations over Germany to
Oberhausen, Mulheim and Wuppertal using Lancasters EM-T (W4952), EM-D
(ED498) and EM-Z (LM326)
On the operation to Wuppertal, they were involved in an incident that
made the front page of the Daily Express. Their aircraft was showered
with incendiaries from another aircraft flying above them. Five came
through the fuselage and one went into the port petrol tank. Two fell
under the mid-upper turret and two fell near the rear turret, one
exploding and blowing in the doors to the turret, but luckily no one was
injured. Sgt Sydney Mitchell and Sgt Harry Toomey hurried to deal with
the fires. Sgt Toomey hacked away with an axe at part of the floor,
chopping holes into the bomb-bay allowing the incendiaries to drop
through and out of the aircraft when the bomb doors were opened.
July 1943
During July they completed 3 further operations, twice to Cologne and
once on a 9hr operation to Turin in Italy in 2 different Lancasters, EM-D
(ED498) and EM-P (EE141)
August 1943
During August the crew took part in further operations to Mannheim,
Nürnberg, Milan, Peenemunde and Berlin in Lancasters EM-P (EE141) and EM-L
(W4120) and EM-N (ED627). On the night of 23/24 August they took EM-N
(ED627) on an operation to Berlin.
Their Last Operation
For their last operation together, again in EM-N (ED627), they took
off from Langar at 21:29 on the night of 27/28 August 1943 on a second
visit to Nürnberg. We now know that their Lancaster was shot down by
a
German night fighter and crashed on
Markung Hohenburg in the district of Wolpertshausen near Schwäbish Hall,
60miles west of Nürnberg.
A total of 674 bombers took part in this same operation to
Nürnberg and 34 others were also lost, including another
Lancaster EM-V (LM334) from No 207 Squadron.
The bodies of the crew of EM-N (ED627) were
recovered by the German authorities and buried in the St. Nikolai
cemetery in Schwäbisch Hall until they were re-interred after the war,
in adjoining
graves, in the Durnbach War Cemetery by the Commonwealth War Graves
Commission. The crew of EM-V (LM334) are also buried in Durnbach War
Cemetery.
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To view an English translation of the
original German Police Report about the crash, together with location
maps
Click
Here
To read Ludwig Meister's letter's
(2002) which includes log book entries and a brief description of the
shooting down of Lancaster ED627
Click
Here
The above document and letter's have
been translated from their original German language into English by
teacher's from St. Julian's High
School in Newport City, Gwent, UK. This was the last school attended
by PO. Fitzgerald and his name appears in their "Roll of Honour" to
former pupils.
Many thanks to Mrs. Hilary Collins
(librarian) and Mr. Mike Turner (Head of German)
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