On this night 70 years ago (November 6th 1944), twelve RAF Mosquitoes from 608 Squadron, RAF Downham Market (Bexwell), took off on a raid to attack Gelsenkirchen, Germany.
Whilst the raid itself was a success, that night was to be the last for the two crew members of Mosquito KB 364. Pilot Officer James McLean (26) and Sergeant Mervyn Lambert Tansley (21) of the RAF(VR) were to die tragically on approach to Downham Market.
On the return journey, cold air and icy conditions are thought to have caused icing on the controls and wings of KB 364 making it difficult to control and lose height. What happened next was to be tragic, both for the crew members and the village of Bawdeswell.
To see the full story of that night and what happened at 20:45, November 6th 1944, click here
DH Mosquito at the DH Heritage Centre
Aviation Trails 
Reblogged this on Defence of the Realm.
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Thank you. Glad you liked it. Its a sad story.
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What a sad story. Thanks for drawing attention to one of the wartime stories of tragedy that didn’t, for once, involve enemy actions!
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It is a sad story indeed. Alwsys worse when its not due to enemy action.
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