Lancaster III PB235 crashed into Risgård Bredning bay 4/10
1944.
The aircraft belonged to RAF 44 Sqn. Bomber Command and was coded KM-C.
T/o 17:24 Spilsby. OP: Gardening
The Lancaster approached the Danish west coast from the North Sea. It had
however been spotted on the radar and at 20:00 hours a German JU 88 night
fighter piloted by Oberleutnant August Györy of 5./NJG 3 had been scrambled from
Fliegerhorst Aalborg West heading west and left the Jylland peninsula near
Einsatzhaven Rom.
He found the Lancaster and followed it towards southeast and entered Jylland
near Hansted. He attacked the Lancaster which caught fire but continued towards
southeast. Five parachutes of which three caught fire were seen to leave PB235
before it near Grettrup Strand beach at 20:35 hours dived vertically into
Risgård Bredning bay exploding just before it hit the water.
W/Op Sgt J.E. Fearn landed in a field belonging to Ove Vestergård of Floustrup.
Ove spoke no English and called Doctor Anton Rask of Selde and told him that he
had a man next to him that he was not able to communicate with. The next thing
Rask heard was a voice saying “Hello, British airman speaking”. Rask got in his
car and drove over to Floustrup where he found Fears with a group of 25 people.
When he had landed in the field he had seen a window with lights and had knocked
on the door. It turned out that 25 people were having a party in the house.
25
people knowing of the presence of the flyer created a problem as the resistance
were hiding 4 tonnes of weapons in the neighbourhood and it would be a disaster
if the Germans started searching for the flyer. Rask explained this to Fearn who
remarked “All right, I have had a bad start, I will pay”. Rask took Fearn to his
house, and shortly after a German offizier and an unteroffizier armed with
submachine guns arrived to arrest Fearn.
While the Germans were at Rask`s house
a message arrived that Sgt Charles W. Vause had been rescued from the Bay by
Fisherman Jens Pedersen.
The Jens Pedersen family had seen the Lancaster crash into the bay and had gone
down to the beach. Suddenly they heard a voice calling “Wohoi” from the bay and
Jens and his son Anton got into a small boat and sailed out to rescue the flyer.
It was dark and difficult to see anything. A whistle was heard and soon the
flyer was found and pulled up in the boat.
He had been in the water next to an
hour and was in a bad shape. He was taken to the Pedersen house and put to bed.
A lot of local people had come to see the flyer and due to that it was not
possible to help him, and the Wehrmacht was informed. The name of the flyer was
Air Gnr. Sgt Charles W. Vause. The Germans who had arrested Fearn also picked up
Vause. They were taken to Skive and locked up in Nordre Skole school
The two flyers were sent to Dulag Luft at Oberursel near Frankfurt am Main for
questioning before being sent to Stalag Luft VII Bankau.
The body of Air Gnr. Sgt Dennis Cahill with an unopened parachute attached was
found in the bay by fishermen from Risgårde and taken to Strandby.
The Wehrmacht wanted to bury the flyer on the beach in a bag, but the fishermen
disagreed and bought a coffin for Cahill and managed to get the Wehrmacht to
bury him in a cemetery.
In the evening he was laid to rest in Strandby cemetery by the Wehrmacht without
ecclesiastical assistance.

(Ib Lødsen)

On 20/6 1945 the body of Bombardier P/O John D. Harper was retrieved from the
bay by fishermen. On 23/6 1945 he was laid to rest in Skive cemetery, Vicar P.J.
Fiig-Pedersen officiating at the graveside ceremony. A guard of honor fired a
salute.

(Via Finn Buch)
Bombardier P/O John D. Harper

(Ib Lødsen)



On 5/8 1945 the body of Pilot Norman J. Evans was found in the sea near the
wreck of PB235 by a fisherman and taken to the chapel at Lovns church. On 6/8
1944 he was laid to rest in Aalestrup cemetery.



Navigator F/S Kenneth Hunter and Flt. Engr. Sgt Douglas A.P. Snoxel have no
known graves and are commemorated on the Runnymede Memorial.
In the summer of 1945 the wreck was retrieved from the bay at a position of
56`45`6N 09`12`2E and sold as scrap.

Two propellers from the Lancaster

Parts of the wreck
It should be noted that according to “Kriegstagesbuch Kommandant im Abschnitt
Nordjutland”: Ein abschuss durch 3./M.Flak.A.814. Absturz stelle der
beschossenen Feindmaschine 1t. Meldung von Flakgruppe in JT oder KT (Jägergradnetz).
This means that also the German Marine claimed to have shot down the Lancaster.
Sources: Fluko Aalborg diary, TW, LBUK, Hobro police.
Back to 1944

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