I thought this would interest Kyt. Palmer crew 97 Squadron at Bourn LANCASTER - ED923-V Shot down by a night fighter on 9th July 1943; the entire crew was killed. CREW Pilot: F/O Robert Bertram Douglas Palmer Flight Engineer: Sgt Charles Victor King Navigator: F/O Ramesh Chandra Datta Bomb Aimer: Sgt William Stephens W/Op: Sgt Alan Raymond Harris Mid-Upper Gunner: Sgt Dennis Charles Herbert Holding Rear gunner: Sgt Douglas Cameron Extract from Bomber Command Losses - 8/9.7.43 Lancaster III ED923 OF - V. Op Cologne. T/O 2316 Bourn. Shot down by a night fighter (Lt Friedrich Erlinghagen 5/NJG1) and crashed at Bassenge (Liege) on the Geer, 14km NNE of Liege. All were taken to St-Truiden for burial on 10 July, since when their remains have been brought to Heverlee War Cemetery. F/O Datta of Calcutta was an associate of the Royal College of Science.
Isn't this the guy AR was talking about ?? Lieutnant Friedrich Otto Erlinghagen from 5 Nachtjagdgeschwader rests at the Lommel German Cemetery ... I can't find a date ... but I read he died in July 1943 also ! German war cemetery, Lommel on Flickr - Photo Sharing! In Memory of Flying Officer RAMESH CHANDRA DATTA 130517, 97 Sqdn., Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve who died age 32 on 09 July 1943 Son of Tarini Charan Datta and Susila Sundari Datta. M.Sc. (Calcutta), A.R.C.S. (Lond.). Remembered with honour HEVERLEE WAR CEMETERY CWGC :: Certificate
Excellent David. Not one I had come across before, so will have to be a bit of digging. In fact the only Indian that I really know about in a detail who was in BC was Sgt Mohand Singh, rear gunner on a 106 Squadron Lancaster Against the Odds: Teamwork There's an excellent nook called the Salford Lancaster about the crew and the crash