1944 Grafenberg Wald Avro Lancaster shootdown

Avro Lancaster ND342
Company type	Military aircraft
Industry	Aviation, Military
Founded	12 December 1944
Fate	Shot down and crashed
Headquarters	Düsseldorf, Germany
Products	Bomber aircraft

Adapted from the English Wikipedia article 1944 Grafenberg Wald Avro Lancaster shootdown, available under CC BY-SA 4.0Updated 29 November 2025

Template:Infobox aircraft occurrence

The 1944 Grafenberg Wald Avro Lancaster shootdown took place on 12 December 1944 during World War II when a Royal Air Force Avro Lancaster bomber was intercepted and destroyed by a German night fighter, crashing within the Wildpark im Grafenberger Wald [de] located in the Ludenberg district of Düsseldorf.

Mission

On the afternoon of 12 December 1944, an Avro Lancaster bomber bearing the serial ND342 and squadron code PH-U departed from RAF Wickenby in eastern England. This aircraft was assigned to either No. 12 or No. 626 Squadron. Its objective was to carry out a bombing raid targeting the Krupp steelworks situated in Essen. The operation involved a total of 540 bombers and resulted in approximately 463 fatalities, which included 99 Soviet prisoners of war and one German non-commissioned officer who perished when an air raid shelter at the former Zeche Graf Beust [de] collapsed. Today, a war grave commemorates those lost at that site.

Shootdown

Following the completion of its bombing run over Essen, the Lancaster was engaged and fired upon by a German night fighter from the I. Gruppe of Nachtjagdgeschwader 11. The attack caused the bomber to catch fire, leading to its crash near Düsseldorf. The intercepting aircraft was a Messerschmitt Bf 109 G-6 (serial number 166455, call sign "Red 4"), piloted by Leutnant Gustav Mohr.

Crew

Four members of the crew successfully bailed out several kilometers away from where the aircraft ultimately crashed:

Sergeant William Stevenson – flight engineer (RAF)
Flight Sergeant Jack Kenworthy – bomb aimer (RAF)
Flight Officer Harry Parry – navigator (RAF)
Flight Lieutenant Bertram Edward William Hall – wireless operator (RCAF)

The first three were captured and survived until the end of the war. Hall landed in Erkrath-Unterfeldhaus [de], where he reportedly received initial medical assistance but was subsequently taken into custody by local NSDAP official Heinrich Thiele and died later that evening under circumstances that remain unclear.

The following crew members lost their lives during the crash:

Flying Officer Reginald Veitch – pilot (RNZAF)
Sergeant Leslie Hunt – mid-upper gunner (RAF)
Pilot Officer John Richard Patterson – rear gunner (RCAF)

An additional crew member, whose identity remains unknown, also exited the aircraft but was discovered deceased approximately 2.5 km from the crash site with a partially deployed parachute. Two further fatalities occurred near the crash location in the Wildpark area, one of whom was Reginald Veitch.

Research

From 2010 through 2014, experts associated with the LVR Office for the Preservation of Monuments in the Rhineland (LVR-Amt für Bodendenkmalpflege im Rheinland) under the Landschaftsverband Rheinland undertook archaeological investigations at the location of the crash. During these explorations, numerous small remnants of the aircraft were discovered within the enclosures housing red deer and wild boar in the park.

Memorial

On 12 December 2014, marking seventy years since the incident, a commemorative wreath was placed at the crash site. Among those present was John Patterson from Canada, who is the nephew of rear gunner John Richard Patterson.

A dedication plaque was officially revealed on 5 April 2017 at Lindenplätzchen, situated close to the main parking area on Rennbahnstraße.

References

External links

Template:Aviation accidents and incidents in 1944 Template:Aviation accidents and incidents in Germany