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Lancaster III JB725 crashed near Jellinge 9/4 1944.
The aircraft belonged to RAF 57 Sqn. Bomber Command and was coded DX-M.
T/o 21:23 East Kirkby. OP: Gardening the Baltic Sea.
On its way to the target area JB725 was attacked by a German night fighter
piloted by Oberfeldwebel Rudolf Mangelsdorf from 12./NJG 3 while flying at 4000
metres altitude. The Lancaster caught fire, exploded in the air and crashed to
the ground south of the village of Jelling at 23:48 hours killing the whole
crew.
It crashed in a field belonging to farmer Jens Beck where it made a 15 by 5
metres crater 3 metres deep.
Human remains were spread over a wide area and it was not possibly to determine
how many persons there had been in the aircraft.
On 15/4 1944 the remains of the crew was laid to rest in one grave in Fourfelt
cemetery in Esbjerg.
The crew were: P/O Jack Finch RAAF, F/Sgt Francis J.H. Garrick, P/O Harold E.
Quinn RCAF, F/Sgt Ian Albert Rands RAAF, Sgt John G. Robson, SGt Robert Smedley
and Sgt Harry B. West.
After the war a memorial stone was erected not far from the crash site.
(Via Finn Buch)
The graves at Fovrfelt cemetery
(John Cooke)
F/Sgt Ian Albert Rands RAAF
Sources: BE, LBUK, CWGC, Police report Vejle police, Nonnenmacher file.
On the night of 9/10 April 1944
Lancaster III JB725 crashed near Jellinge 9/4 1944
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Lancaster III JB600 crashed near Torrild 10/4 1944
Lancaster III ND420 crashed at Brande 10/4 1944
Lancaster III JB734 crashed near Gunderup 10/4-1944
Lancaster BI ME663 crashed Aale 10/4 1944
Lancaster III ND675 crashed near Filskov 10/4 1944
Lancaster III JB709 crashed into the North Sea
10/4-1944
Lancaster I ME688 crashed into the North Sea
10/4-1944
Back to 1944
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