Aircraft Information
Here is the list of all aircraft flown in by David Dancy (retrieved from his log books)
Short Stirling MK I
BF325 Short & Harland Ltd (Belfast)
W7577, W7625 Austin Motors Ltd
Short Stirling MK III
BF527
BK687 (HA-R) - Delivered to No.218 Sqdn 7Feb43. Airborne 2315 8Oct43 from Downham Market. Cause of loss not established. Crashed 0135 at Ebersdorf, 7 km NW of Bremerv_rde. All are buried in Becklingen War Cemetery. F/S E.Rogers RCAF KIA Sgt P.Barton KIA F/S K.G.Smalley RCAF KIA Sgt A.Turner KIA Sgt F.G.Calway KIA P/O S.A.Driscoll RCAF KIA Sgt D.B.Fulton RCAF KIA
EE881,
EE888 (HA-K) - Delivered to No.218 Sqdn 24Jun43. Was one of two 218 Sqdn Stirlings lost on this operation. Airborne 1655 16Dec43 from Downham Market to plant mines in French coastal waters off la Pallice. Lost without trace. All are commemorated on the Runnymede Memorial. F/S D.Williams KIA Sgt A.C.Orme KIA Sgt M.J.Smith KIA P/O J.A.Taylor RCAF KIA Sgt C.C.Toms KIA Sgt H.Campbell KIA Sgt A.F.Hughes KIA
EE899, EF124 (HA-R)
EF184 (HA-I, HA-L, HA-P) - Delivered to No.218 Sqdn 5Oct43. One of three 218 Sqdn Stirlings lost on this operation. Also EF259; EF504. Airborne 2222 1May44 from Woolfox Lodge to destroy the railway yards and stores depot. Leaving the target area was attacked by a pair of Ju88's. The Stirling successfully beat off the attack but was severely damaged in the engagement and Sgt Lodge was mortally wounded. Crash-landed at Woodbridge Airfield, Suffolk. Sgt Lodge is buried BK687 (HA-R) - Delivered to No.218 Sqdn 7Feb43. Airborne 2315 8Oct43 from Downham Market.Cause of loss not established. Crashed 0135 at Ebersdorf, 7 km NW of Bremerv_rde. All are buried in Becklingen War Cemetery. F/S E.Rogers RCAF KIA Sgt P.Barton KIA F/S K.G.Smalley RCAF KIA Sgt A.Turner KIA Sgt F.G.Calway KIA P/O S.A.Driscoll RCAF KIA Sgt D.B.Fulton RCAF KIA
EE881 - not established. Crashed at Cussy-les-Forges (Yonne), where the crew were buried by local French Resistance in the communal cemetery. Since the end of hostilities, CWGC has placed their headstones in the cemetery, which is located some 10 km E of Avallon. At 18. Sgt Cassels was one of the youngest airmen killed on bomber duties. F/L H.J.Colenutt KIA Sgt J.J.Cassels KIA F/O D.H.Mills KIA F/O G.H.Mulligan RCAF KIA Sgt R.J.S.Waller KIA W/O G.N.Gosling KIA Sgt D.G.Davies KIA
EF504 (HA-P) - Delivered to No.218 Sqdn 1Sep43. EF504 was one of three 218 Sqdn Stirlings lost on this operation. see: EF184; EF259. Airborne 2214 1May44 from Woolfox Lodge to destroy the railway yards and stores depot. Cause of loss not established. Crashed in the vicinity of Poix-de-la-Somme, where those killed are buried beside their Sqdn comrades from EF259. F/O I.I.Jones KIA Sgt E.W.Wright Evd F/O S.D.Taylor RCAF Evd F/S R.H.Osborne RAAF KIA Sgt A.A.Snook KIA P/O R.E.S.Twining KIA WO2 M.R.Bell RCAF KIA
EH923, EH940
EH942 (HA-M) - Delivered to No.218 Sqdn 3Sep43 Airborne 2203 22Apr44 from Woolfox Lodge to bomb the railway yards. shot down by a night-fighter (Oblt Dietrich Schmidt. 111./NJG1) - who also shot down EF159 on the same operation - crashing 0026 between the villages of Hautefontaine (Oise) and Vivieres (Aisne), some 18 km SW of Soissons. S/L Poulter, flying his first sortie since early in the war, when he completed eight operations, and F/S Lambert are buried in Vivieres Communal Cemetery, next to the entire crew for a 90 Sqdn Stirling, lost on the same operation. S/L C.W.Poulter MiD KIA F/S H.Bossick Evd F/O H.D.Thomas Evd WO2 A.J.McPhee RCAF Evd P/O H.H.J.Fisher Evd F/S F.W.lambert KIA F/S L.N.Clay Evd. Crash-site also spelled Mortefontane, France.
EH995, EJ112
EJ125 (HA-J) - Delivered to No.218 Sqdn 1Oct43. Also wore the ID HA-C. Airborne 1810 21Feb44 from Downham Market to plant mines off Borkum. Cause of loss not established. Believed to have crashed in the sea off the uninhabited island of Rottumeroog. The body of F/L Wiseman was found on 8May44 near Pieterburen (Groningen), Holland. His grave is now located in Benrum (Westernieland) General Cemetery. F/S Brasington was washed onto Borkum 16Mar44 and was buried five days later on the island. His grave is now located in the Sage War Cemetery. The others are commemorated on the Runnymede Memorial. F/L J.I.Wiseman KIA Sgt V.L.Twydell KIA F/O W.P.Cragg KIA F/O H.P.Theriault RCAF KIA Sgt D.Copley KIA Sgt G.H.Foreman KIA F/S G.C.Brasington RAAF KIA
Lancaster Mk 1 from XV Squadron, Mildenhall - 1944
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This picture shows VP254 in a flight shed at Woodford
(Picture shown with kind permission of Harry Holmes) |
The picture on the left is a still taken from a video given to Anne & Jane by
Bryan and Nancy. The video was converted from some old cine film and
features David in Singapore before the fateful flight on VP254. In the
video, David can be seen walking around Shackleton MR.MK.1A WG525/E
performing pre-flight checks.
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The picture on the right is a photo of WG525
when it passed through Khormaksar, Aden in the summer of 1962.
(Picture shown with kind permission of Ray Deacon) WG525 - f/f 18/04/1952, d/d 09/05/1952, sold as scrap 05/08/1964 at No.23 MU Aldergrove |