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RAF aircraft's crash sites in Province of Luxembourg:
Houffalize

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Last update: 25/06/23


Elegy to
the Heroes of Silence


* To the 207 Squadron *
* To the crew of NE168-EM-F *
* To the monument erected in remembrance *
* Cemetery where rest the crew *

Crash site of Lancaster NE168-EM-F
6/01/1945

aircraft
cest raf squadron
Unit: 207 Squadron
Aircraft: Lancaster
Code: NE168-EM-F
Base: Spilsby
Mission: Houffalize
Crew officer: Fl/O PEREZ, MIGUEL LOUIS
Incident: Shot down by German fighter

Location: (Prov. Luxembourg)

crash

Facts

From available records it appears that NE 168 arrived on 207 Squadron at RAF Spilsby on 23 May 1944. The editor's father's crew were among the many that flew in it.
Its luck held on the St Leu d'Esserent raid of 4/5 July 1944. To quote the Squadron History, Always Prepared by John Hamlin, p111:
"To support the launch sites, the enemy had set up three assembly and storage sites for V1 s in France: St. Leu d'Esserent, a town in the Oise valley about thirty miles (48 km.) north of Paris where more than 70% of all V 1 s launched against England were prepared; Nucourt (in a limestone cavern west of St. Leu); and Rilly-la-Montagne, a railway tunnel south of Rheims.
July 1944 was a month of mostly fine weather, and 207 Squadron was kept very busy attacking these assembly sites and transport targets, beginning with a raid on St. Leu d'Esserent by fifteen aircraft on 4/5 July, a mission from which two crews, headed by Plt. Off. J. H. Wilson (LM125 EM:G) and Flt. Sgt. J. W. Gibbs (ND570 EM:Z), did not return. This time 207 Squadron formed part of a force of 229 Lancasters and twelve Mosquitos. Fighter opposition was predicted, as there was a full moon and little cloud cover, and soon after dropping its bombs, Plt. Off. Peter McIntosh's Lancaster [NE168] was attacked by a Bf 109, which damaged the tailplane and holed the starboard outer fuel tank, as well as severely injuring the rear gunner, Sgt. Burton.
The aircraft became very difficult to control, and while attempts were being made to stabilise it the Luftwaffe fighter made another pass. This time the mid-upper gunner, Sgt. Barker [? other sources say Bateman], fired a continuous burst, hitting the fighter, which went down in flames. After a time Peter McIntosh found cloud cover and made his way homeward to land at Woodbridge, having warned the crew that they might have to bale out if the situation worsened."
The aircraft was declared Category AC (repair is beyond the unit capacity, but can be repaired on site by another unit or a contractor) and it was repaired on site, 5/7-21/8/44. It is believed that NE168 did a total of 53 ops.
Source: https://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/wiki.php?id=89788

crash

Sources:
207 Squadron web site
The International Bomber Command Centre (IBCC)
Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC)
Aircrew Remembered
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