Crew members of Lancaster KB804
On September 28th 1944, Blaney's crew were posted to 419 squadron from 1664 C.U.. The crew members were Sgt. Donald Hanna Navigator, F/O Phil Owen Bomb Aimer, Sgt. T. Stan Instone Flight Engineer (RAF), Sgt. Ray Altham Air Gunner, Sgt. Donald H Lanctot Air Gunner.
The crew flew together up until the attack on Bochum on the evening of November 4th. when their Lancaster was attacked by two fighters, the best description of those events and other events related to the Blaney crew can only be best presented by one of the crew themselves.
The wounding of F/S Lanctot during the actions on the November 8th his 9th operation with the Blaney crew. A full account of that night is foun in the remembrance of Donald Lanctot in the tab above. The serious wounding of Lanctot led to a new member to the crew, F/S Lou Nozzolillo.
On what appears to be his first operation with Blaney's crew, on the night of November 21st, Lancaster VR-E was to have a mysterious encounter. Shortly after dropping their bomb load on their target for that night, Castrop Rauxel, the aircraft was violently lifted 300 to 500 feet into the air. According to the Ops Log comments no explosion only a loud bang was reported which left the bomb doors buckled. The cause was left recorded as unknown with the added notation indicating the damage slowed them down on the return flight.
In a recollection given within the last few years, Stan Instone recalled it this way:
“Over Castrop Rauxel the aircraft went up 500 feet. It could have been a mid air collision or maybe a flak shell hit the cookie after it was released from the aircraft. On a daylight Essen raid I saw a Halifax or a Lancaster above us drop a “Cookie” [cylindrical 4000lb bomb] between our port wing and port tail plane. It missed us by about 15 feet.”
The night of February 21st, 1945
Lancaster KB804 squadron ID VR-E took off at 2126 on a large scale raid to Dortmund. Six members of the crew had reached the half way mark of a tour, F/O Phil Owen was in his second tour. Within minutes of reaching TOT the aircraft was hit by two flak bursts. The starboard wing and bomb bay were in flames as the pilot F/O Blaney gave the order to bail out. F/O Owen had trouble with the front hatch being jammed in place by the air stream of the aircraft. Once free Instone, Owen and Hanna jumped. Using the rear hatch Althan, Nozzolillo and Kindret made their escape, Kindret just managed to clear the area when the Lancaster exploded. P/O Kindret harnessed by only one strap was close enough to hear the crackling of the markers still being dropped on the target. His landing was hampered by having to hold his chute harness with his arm wrapped around it , the rough landing caused him to incur a bruised right rib.
Rear gunner Altham was having troubles escaping the rear turret, the doors were frozen he was unable to force them open. Contacting Blaney to tell him of his predicament. Blaney had his own problems controlling the Lancaster and unable to help his gunner at the far end of the aircraft. Eventually Altham forced the door open and went out into the darkness of the night mixed with the flames working towards him, but now he was caught by his right foot and hung from the turret as the Lancaster dove steeply down. Altham worked his foot out of the metal of turret that had held him to the falling aircraft and he fell free.
Holding the aircraft as best as he could to let his crew have a chance at escape, F/O Blaney was unable to make it to safety before the aircraft exploded. The mystery as to what happened to WO Hanna has been mentioned as either a parachute failing to open, maybe as with Kindret he had not fully harnessed up his chute. Other probabilities mentioned were foul play at the hands of the enemy.
Official crash documents show crash occurred in Niederspockhovel a part of the town of Spockhovel in Westphalia Germany
Canadian records are hazy about the point at which Don Hanna left the aircraft. Sgt. Stan Instone is adamant that
he left after P/O Hanna. The records appear to be ambiguous about parachute failing to open and burns on the body
[which suggest that he may also have been in the aircraft at the time of the explosion] so no final clarity on
what actually occured that night in regards to P/O Hanna's death.
It has been accepted that all records which now exist have been explored and that there are some things which we will never know.
It has been accepted that all records which now exist have been explored and that there are some things which we will never know.
Recent recollections of the night of February 21st
Phil Owen and Stan Instone comment on the events of the night of February 21st and the loss of Lawrence Blaney and Donald Hanna and parachuting into Germany.
Phil: “When the order to bale out was given on the Dortmund trip, I tried to throw the escape hatch cover through the escape hatch but it jammed in the slipstream. Eventually we freed it by jumping it. I’m not sure Don Hanna had his parachute on.”
Stan: “I think we were shot down over the village of Hattingen.”
Stan: “If Larry (pilot F/O Blaney) had panicked, none of us would have got out. I felt incredibly calm as the parachute opened. I said to myself: “The war’s over for you, sunshine.”. I saw parachutes above me, probably because I free fell and so was traveling faster. At first I thought I was coming down over the sea, although I couldn’t possibly be, because the surface seemed to be like waves. It turned out to be a forest. I knew I was in Germany because I could still hear the aircraft going over. I spoke to somebody in what I thought was German, he turned out to be a member of the German Home Guard. I was taken to the village hall. It has black and white tiles on the floor. I was bleeding and the blood dripped onto them. They made no attempt to help. They got a youngster out of bed, he must have been about fourteen and he spoke English. I told him my name, rank and number [under the Geneva Convention, this was the only information that prisoners of war were required to give]. One old man got up like he was going to hit me. I was taken to the village lock up for three days. Here a policeman’s wife brought me two meals a day. I was then picked up by a German truck with Lou (Nozzolillo) and Ray (Althan) and a traumatized Canadian pilot. There were parachutes at the bottom of the truck. I have since wondered if there were bodies under the parachutes.”
Phil: “Ray was the first to be captured.”
Stan: “We were taken to a Luftwaffe camp and put in a cell with a wounded American. I started to wheeze, a German said “Bronchitis” and I was given an aspirin. We shared a razor. I looked in the mirror and saw a black face, I suppose from the smoke of the fire in the aircraft. We were originally allowed to eat in the camp mess but then the Luftwaffe objected. Then we were given a large jug of German soup in the cell.
It was here that we were bombed by American P38s. I was looking out of the window and was blown backwards by the blast. Our bedding was taken away as German wounded were coming in. Soon afterwards I was taken away with an American Colonel, badly burnt on the throat, an American Bombardier [aircrew] and, I think, one other.
F/S Lanctot's DFM
LANCTOT, FS Donald Hugh (R211088) - Distinguished Flying Medal - No.419 Squadron - Award effective 20 April 1945 as per London
Gazette of that date and AFRO 918/45 dated 1 June 1945. Born 1922 in Quebec; home in Longueil or Montreal (surveyor). Enlisted in Montreal, 9 December 1942.
Trained at No.10 BGS (graduated 24 December 1943. This airman has taken part in numerous sorties and has proved himself to be a most reliable crew member.
One night in November 1944, he was rear gunner in an aircraft which was attacked by two fighters. During the engagement, Flight Sergeant Lanctot defended
his aircraft well but was wounded in the head and arm. In spite of this he remained in his turret and did not inform anyone of his injuries until the enemy
aircraft had been driven off. His determination and devotion to duty were typical of that which he has shown on all occasions.
Although not related to this mission, one of Blaney's crew members, Air Gunner, F/S Kenneth James Shields, age 23 of Whitney Ontario, was killed in an traffic accident December 20 1944 and is buried in Harrogate Cemetery.
