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Lancaster III PB302 ditched in the North Sea 27/8 1944.
The aircraft belonged to RAF 156 Sqn. Bomber Command and was coded GT-B.
T/O 20:21 Upwood OP: Kiel.
After having dropped the bomb load over Kiel the Lancaster was attacked by a JU
88 night fighter. Rear gunner P/O Syd Freeden managed to hit it with fire from
his machineguns and it dived away. The Lancaster had however been damaged
severely. The propeller on the right hand outer motor was missing and the
inboard was on fire. In addition to this PB302 had been hit in several places on
the fuselage and on the tail.
Pilot F/L R.M. Etchells flew across Denmark and headed out over the North Sea.
The starboard inner propeller was feathered and the fire extinguished. The crew
jettisoned the markers still onboard, but was not able to close the bomb-bay
doors afterwards. Next the port undercarriage came down and they were not able
to retract it again. It was decided to ditch the aircraft, and at 00:40 hours
Pilot F/L R.M.Etchells set it down in the sea on position 54`40N 04`50 E which
is approximately 230 kilometres west of the island of Sylt.
The Lancaster kept afloat for 4 minutes allowing the crew time to transfer to
the Lancaster´s dinghy.
Around noon they were spotted by two search and rescue Hudsons. One of which
dropped an airborne lifeboat. One of the parachutes failed to disengage and
acted as a sail and pulled the boat away from the crew. The other Hudson dropped
a rubber dinghy, which was retrieved along with containers of food and water.
(Imperial War Museum)
The crew in the dinghy
Later in the evening another Hudson arrived and dropped an airborne lifeboat,
but this was lost in the darkness. After midnight the moon broke through the
clouds, and the crew sighted the lifeboat and eventually reached it.
At 08:00 hours a Hudson arrived and scared off a JU 88 which was searching for
the Englishmen. The crew started up the engine of the lifeboat and headed for
England. The wind was getting harder and at 14:00 hours a heavy sea swamped the
engine and the boat began to break up. The crew tied ropes to each other and
hoped to keep afloat in their Mae West´s when the boat had gone.
(Imperial War Museum)
S 304 “Ove” of Skagen
Suddenly they spotted a Danish fishing boat that had been guided towards them by
a Hudson. It was S 304 “Ove” of Skagen.
(Imperial War Museum)
(Imperial War Museum)
(Imperial War Museum)
The crew have transfered to the
lifeboat and is about to transfer to "Ove"
The crew came onboard and the Hudson
dropped a message stating: Steer 250 degree for England- Good luck. The crew
were given food and dry clothes and bunks to sleep in.
On 29/7 at 17:00 hours S304 was met by a RAF Air/Sea rescue launch and the
flyers transferred to it. They arrived back in Grimsby, England on the next
morning.
The fishing boat and its crew were taken into custody by a Royal Navy launch and
stayed in England for the rest of the war.
The crew of Lancaster PB302 were: Pilot F/Lt Bob Etchells, Flt. Engr. F/S Jock
D. Gray, Navigator P/O John E. Goldsmith RCAF, Bombardier P/O Al J.C. Croome
RAAF, W/Op W/O ”Bill ”E.W.Hay, Air Gnr. F/S John F. Stearn and Rear gunner P/O
Syd Freeden.
(Imperial War Museum)
Goldsmith with the crew of the Hudson
Pilot F/O Nicholsen, F/O Hollebone, Goldsmith, F/O Curtis, F/O Stevens
Sources: Letters from Goldsmith dated 8/9 and 15/11 1969, BCL, AIR27/1042
26/27 August 1944
Lancaster I LM127 crashed in the North Sea 27/8 1944
Lancaster III PB180 crashed the in Baltic Sea 27/8
1944
Lancaster III PB302 ditched in the North Sea 27/8
1944
Lancaster III ND807 crashed in the sea off the
island of Sejrø 27/8-1944
Lancaster III LM652 crashed in the sea of Kattegat
27/8 1944
Lancaster III PB292 crashed Høgsholt near Vejle
27/8-1944
Lancaster III LM694 crashed Aastruplund 27/8 1944
Lancaster I ME650 crashed at Sønder Grene near
Skarrild 27/8 1944
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