Skellingthorpe - Skellingthorpe

On May 31, 1942 at 02:14 AM, Skellingthorpe - Skellingthorpe experienced a crash involving Avro 679 Manchester, operated by Royal Air Force - RAF, with the event recorded near Bree Limburg.

The flight was categorized as bombing and the reported phase was flight at a plain, valley crash site.

7 people were known to be on board, 1 fatalities were recorded, 6 survivors were identified or estimated. This corresponds to an estimated fatality rate of 14.3%.

Crew on board: 7, crew fatalities: 1, passengers on board: 0, passenger fatalities: 0, other fatalities: 0.

The listed crash cause is terrorism act, hijacking, sabotage. The crew left RAF Skellingthorpe at 2301LT on May 30 on a bombing mission to Cologne, Germany. Following an uneventful mission, the aircraft returned to its base in England. While overflying Belgium by night, the bomber was shot down by the German Flak. The captain ordered his crew to abandon the aircraft and to bail out. Sole on board, the pilot attempted to make an emergency landing in Bree, some 21 km northwest of Gent. But the aircraft went out of control and crashed in a drainage ditch and was destroyed. While the captain was killed, all six others occupants were unhurt and taken POW. Crew (50th Squadron): F/O Leslie Thomas Manser, pilot, † Sgt Leslie H. Baveystock, pilot, P/O Richard J. Barnes, radio navigator, P/O Robert M. Horsley, wireless operator and air gunner, Sgt Stanley E. King, wireless operator and air gunner, Sgt Allan McF. Mills, air gunner, Sgt B. W. Naylor, air gunner. Photos: http://www.ww2crashsiteresearch.com/pagina57.html

Aircraft reference details include registration L7301.

Geospatial coordinates for this crash are approximately 51.1496°, 5.5937°.