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Lancaster NG363 / BQ-P

Lancaster NG363 / BQ-P was flown by a 550 Squadron crew. NG363 was lost on the 07/08 January 1945 during a raid to Munich. Six of the crew were killed and one was injured and became a PoW.

See the original site archive at http://www.550squadronassociation.org.uk/original-site-archive/index.htm, under the Aircraft link where it is listed as "FTR 8 Jan '45". Other details can be found as shown:

http://www.lostbombers.co.uk/bomber.php?id=5493

The crew was as follows:

F/O Clarke crew
L-to-R: F/O Clarke (P), Sgt Miell, F/O Coldwell, Sgt Tunstall, Sgt Precieux, Sgt Bradley, Sgt Gauthier

F/Sgt Harold Miell
Image kindly made available by Jörg Helbig: source NLAC/Ottawa, RG 24 Volume 28236 F/S Miell RCAF

Sgt L O Precieux
Image kindly made available by Yvon Precieux

Other information about the flight and the target available here.

The entry on the 550 Squadron Roll of Honour is available here.

Louis Precieux (W/Op)

Many thanks for Yvon Precieux for the following information about two brothers and a cousin who all flew in Bomber Command.

"... my father (aged 19), his brother (Louis T, aged 22) and cousin (Lois, the youngest aged 18) were all in Bomber Command. 
My father (bomb aimer) was with 425 RCAF Squadron (Alloutte) a special squadron made up of French Canadians and French  
speaking crew. His brother named Louis T (navigator) was with Pathfinders. Cousin Lois was in the Lancaster of 
550 Squadron that crashed at Moosham. They all came to Britain from  Mauritius as RAF service volunteers with many others 
from that island when they were age 19, 22 and 18 respectively. They were transported on the Orion (Orient Steam 
Navigation Company) initially putting into Capetown, South Africa before proceeding to Britain. (Greenock)? "

ORION Ships Log
A photo of the ships manifest registering the Precieux names and others of the RAF contingent from Mauritius
Image kindly made available by Yvon Precieux

Request For Information

In 2003/4 a request for information from a Brian Chapman in Ontario Canada was published in which he made a request for information about the this crew. See: /original-site-archive/index.htm (follow the Page 1 link).

This web-site has recently (Oct 2011) received a request for contact details for Brian Chapman in order to pass on information about the crash site as follows:

...
my name is Matthias. I found an old page (Correspondence 2003) on your website. There Brian Chapman ask for 
information about a No 550 Sqdn. Lancaster crash (NG363) in 1945.
My friend and I write a book about an old German airfield in Bavaria - called Brunnthal. The Lancaster flew in this 
night over the village Brunnthal and dropped there a "Cookie" over a forest. Some miles away this aircraft crashed. 
We have some information about this crash and when it is possible, I search a direct mail contact to Mr. Chapman.

If anyone has contact details for Brian Chapman, or Brian is reading this, can you contact this web-site (email address above) so that the connection can be made and information can be passed on. Thanks.

Recent Research

The site of the crash is in the LUFTGAU VII ABSCHUSSMELDUNGEN 7./8.1.45 (BA-MA Freiburg), crashing 27 km south of target near MOOSHAM. The cause of loss is not established; possibly, after it was attacked by a fighter or hit by flak, it struggled on for some time and than succumbed.

On the basis of the available information it would appear that the plane flew on for some time after the attack on the primary target, the bomb load was dropped but then it crashed. So the initial point of attack from a night-fighter must be some distance away from the actual crashpoint. When the records for KTB NJG 6 are examined (NG363 was claimed for by NJG 6) just one claim could be matched against this loss and this came from Obfw. Heinrich Schmidt 2./NJG 6. He was the only one to claim a four engined aircraft south of Munich at a combat time of 22.31 hrs. Indeed NG363 was the only attacking aircraft to crash south of Munich during this raid. The other aircraft crashing during the raid were to the north or directly in the city. It is possible NG363 was shot up (or claimed) by flak too, but no details regarding flak claims for this night have so far surfaced.

So the evidence all centres around the claim made by Heinrich Schmidt.

Analysis based on the abridgment of the KTB NJG 6 (source: W.Kock KTB NJG 6) and from LAC/Ottawa (RG 24 Volume 28236 F/S Miell RCAF).

KTBs - Kriegs Tagebuch (War Diaries)
NJG - Nachtjagdgeschwader (Night Fighter Group)
Abschussmeldungen - the rather cheerily named "kill reports"

Investigation Report
Image kindly made available by Jörg Helbig: source NLAC/Ottawa, RG 24 Volume 28236 F/S Miell RCAF

Investigation Report, pg 2
Image kindly made available by Jörg Helbig: source NLAC/Ottawa, RG 24 Volume 28236 F/S Miell RCAF

Memorandum
Image kindly made available by Jörg Helbig: source NLAC/Ottawa, RG 24 Volume 28236 F/S Miell RCAF

Graves Registration Report, 197
Image kindly made available by Jörg Helbig: source NLAC/Ottawa, RG 24 Volume 28236 F/S Miell RCAF

Document	Comment
	Night-fighter report (KTB NJG 6) for the night of 07/08 January 1945 (in German) Document kindly made available by Jörg Helbig

Thanks to Jörg Helbig for providing the Assocation web-site with results from his investigations.