This project started after the chance overhearing of a BBC Radio 5 Live article on the Commonwealth War Graves Commission's new Web site allowing on-line interrogation of the Roll of Honour database. The only person in my immediate family who was killed in during WW II was Ronald ‘Ronnie’ Rivers. He was my Mother’s elder Brother (therefore my Uncle). After obtaining the details of when Ronnie died and where he was buried the natural progression was to find out about the other members of the crew, the aircraft, the operation and where the aircraft came down. This Web page contains facts about the loss of LL640.
The page is designed to provide information to all who are interested, but mostly to the family and friends of the air crew who lost their lives (and to the survivor’s family). The process of gathering the details given here has been sobering but very rewarding. The facts are presented as they were obtained. There has been no attempt to construct a story, this may come later when more human interest details come to light.
After 55 years some facts have been lost in time but this should not detract from the purpose of this page. It is designed to be a memorial to seven brave men, six of whom gave their today for our tomorrow.
All gave some. Some gave all.
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Number 115 3 Group Motto - Despite the Elements |
| Based at Witchford from 26 November 1943 to 28 October 1945. | |
| Aircraft Code Letters A4, AA, IL, KO | |
| 115 had one of the finest operational service records
in Bomber Command. Flew 261 bombing and 27 mine laying raids consisting of 4678 Lancaster sorties. This was the second highest number of sorties in Bomber Command. Probably dropped the second greatest tonnage of bombs, approximately 23,000 tons. The squadron lost 110 aircraft (2.4 percent) in these raids. Suffered the most loses in the whole of Bomber Command. The only squadron to lose more than 200 aircraft in the war. An additional 22 Lancasters were destroyed in crashes. |
Witchford, near Ely, Cambridgeshire. Opened: June 1943,
Closed: March 1946
Elevation: 47 ft., Pundit Code: EL, 3 Concrete Runways, 3
Hangers: B1 (1), T2 (2)
Now a busy industrial estate. See LANCASTER AT WAR 5 for the
article by John Delanoy.
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This was a MkII Lancaster built by Sir W.G. Armstrong Whitworth Aircraft Ltd., Whitley, Coventry. Part of the second production batch of 100 aircraft (LL617-LL653, LL660-LL704 and LL716-LL739) as part of contract No. 239/SAS/C4(C), all powered by Bristol Hercules XVI radial air cooled engines of 1,735 hp each. Only 300 of these aircraft were built during a temporary hiccup in Merlin engine production. Deliveries commenced October 1943; completed March 1944 (average rate of production slightly over 4 aircraft per week). 115 was one of a very few Squadrons which operated this type.
| The Hercules, a double-row, fourteen-cylinder,
sleeve-valve radial engine was developed in 1936.
Hercules production continued through the Second World
War years when it was used in the Wellington, Stirling,
Halifax and Beaufighter as well as the Lancaster. Even though the Hercules XVI engines were more powerful than the legendary Merlin power plant, they did not give the Lancaster better performance. The Hercules engines used more fuel and caused more drag thus the rate of climb, top speed and range were less then that of the Lancaster Mk. I. |
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Technical Details - Avro Lancaster Mk. II
Wingspan: 102 ft - 3 in, (31.17 m)
Length: 69 ft - 8 in, (21.23 m)
Height: 20 ft - 0 in, (6.10 m)
Weight: 63,083 lbs, (28,614 kg)
Maximum speed: 264 mph, (425 km/h) at 14,036 ft, (4,278 m)
Ceiling: 18,552 ft, (5,654 m)
Range: 2,547 miles, (4,099 km)
Armament: 10 machine guns; 14,017 lbs of bombs
Crew: 7
This particular aircraft was delivered to 115 Squadron on 24 Jan 1944. It was the fifth operation for this aircraft (but not necessarily of the crew) and had flown for a total of 87 hours. Previous operations were:-
| Berlin | 27/28 Jan 1944 |
| Berlin | 30/31 Jan 1944 |
| Leipzig | 19/20 Feb 1944 |
| Stuttgart | 15/16 Mar 1944 |
| Frankfurt | 18/19 Mar 1944 - Missing |
The Avro Lancaster was normally manned by seven crew members:
Pilot - A S Frampton - Seated
on the left hand side of the cockpit. There was no Co-Pilot
Navigator - R
G Rivers - Seated at a table
facing to the port (left) of the aircraft behind the pilot and
flight engineer.
Flight Engineer - S R J Price - Seated
next to the pilot on a folding seat.
Bomb Aimer - P
F Willis-Culpitt - Seated when
operating the front gun turret, but positioned in a laying
position when directing the pilot on to the aiming point prior to
releasing the bomb load.
Wireless Operator/Air Gunner - B E Ansell - Seated, facing forward and directly beside the
navigator.
Mid Gunner - T W Hennessy - Seated
in the mid upper turret, in the unheated section of the fuselage.
Rear Gunner - C H Winters - Seated in
the isolated unheated rear turret.
Three Commonwealth air forces were represented in the crew.
Back Row - T W Hennessy, S R J Price, B E Ansell, C H Winters
Front Row - R G Rivers, A S Frampton, P F Willis-Culpitt
The table below details the crew. Double click on the name to
obtain more information and a 'biography'.
| Position | Pilot | Navigator | Flight Engineer | Bomb Aimer | Wireless Operator/Air Gunner | Mid Gunner | Rear Gunner |
| Name | |||||||
| First Names | Allan Stanley | Ronald Geoffrey | Sydney | Peter Frederick | Benjamin Edward | Thomas William | Charles Hugh |
| Rank | Pilot Officer | Flight Sergeant | Flight Sergeant | Sergeant | Sergeant | Flight Sergeant | Pilot Officer |
| Serial No. | NZ.42389 | 1386079 | 1582682 | 1323441 | 1397244 | AUS.412314 | J/92602 |
| Air Force | RNZAF | RAFVR | RAF | RAFVR | RAFVR | RAAF | RCAF |
| Age | 32 (DoB - 30 Nov 1911) |
19 (DoB -21 June 1924) |
19 (DoB - 20 Apr 1924) |
22 | 21 | 31 (DoB - 22 Feb 1913) |
23 |
| Status - Plot No | KIA - 8.B.18 | KIA - 8.B.17 | POW | KIA - 8.B.19 | KIA - 8.B.16 | KIA -8.B.15 | KIA - 8.B.14 |
| Date | Saturday 18 March 1944 |
| Takeoff | 19:46 |
| Target | Frankfurt, Germany |
| Crashed | Approx. 22:30 ‘As a result of enemy action’ - 'Flying battle' |
| Location | Fohren-Linden, Rhineland-Palatinate/Saarland Border,
Germany Approx. 40 Km. NNE of Saarbrucken, 60 Km. East of Luxembourg. ‘300 metres right of the main road from Baumholder to Berschweiler, on arable land in the vicinity of Fohren-Linden’ (Map Ref: K50/L.675100) Photographs and Map of Crash Site (Caution - Long loading time.) |
Part of a force of 846 aircraft including 620 Lancaster, 209 Halifaxes and 17 Mosquitoes, tasked to attack Frankfurt that night. This was the largest number of Lancasters used in one raid and the largest quantity of bombs dropped in the war to that date. A total of 22 (10 Lancasters, 12 Halifaxes) aircraft, 2.60 percent of the force were lost that night.
One other Lancaster (DS629) was lost that night from 115 Squadron. It crashed on landing and was damaged beyond repair.
The bodies of the crew members who lost their lives were recovered from the wreckage by the German authorities and interred in a communal grave in the Thallichtenberg Cemetery (Map Ref: K50/L.710067), 5 Km form the crash site. The grave was ‘4 yards inside gate on left’ and marked with a cross inscribed: 6 Unknown English Flyers 18.3.44.
After exhumation on 10 May 1948 the individual identity of the remains was established and re-interred in the Rheinburg Military War Cemetery, Germany (Map Ref: K52/A.188264). The cemetary is 3 kilometres south of Rheinburg town centre on the road to Kamp Lintford. The crew are buried in consecutive plots, 8.B.14 to 8.B.19 inclusive. Over 3,300 British and Commonwealth servicemen are buried here.
The wreckage on the site of the crash had all been removed by 1 Feb 1946.
As with any project of this sort there will always be items
missing or details that could be expanded upon.
The following items of information would help complete the
details.
Photograph of any of the crew or the aircraft.
Any ground crew.
'Eye witnesses' from Fohren-Linden.
Please send me mail if you have details on the above.
I am indebted to the following individuals and organisations who spent time and trouble to provide me with the information contained in these pages. Some have given ‘sign posts’ and some have provided facts and figures, but all have provided support and good wishes for the project.
UK
| The Commonwealth War Graves Commission | |
| John Banfield | RAF Ex-POW Association |
| Rob Davis | RAF Bomber Command 1939-1945 |
| Geoff Negus | The British, Commonwealth & Polish Air Services Personnel Archive |
| Tony Willis-Culpitt |
Canada
| Barbara Garland | Bomber Command |
| Bob Evans | The Nanton Lancaster Society and Air Museum |
| Larry Wright | Bomber Command |
Australia
| National Archives of Australia | |
| Melanie Booth | Kempsey Shire Council |
New Zealand
| Doug George | Ashburton Aviation Museum |
| Errol Martyn Sue Kent-Butterick, Kath Croy and Gwenyth Beauvais & |
Germany
| Tom & Helmut Schneider (Fohren-Linden) |
Other
| Vim Govaerts | Bomber Command Losses 1941-1945 |
As can be seen from the Acknowledgements listed above, the information gathered, collated and published on this page has come from many sources. There will always be interesting facts that will add to the knowledge base. If you feel that you have such information, do not hesitate to contact me. Please send me mail telling me of additional items relevant to this page as well as any mistakes that you may find.