550 Squadron Photos

F/Lt R J Liefooghe and Crew

The F/Lt Liefooghe crew were posted to 550 Sqdn from 170 Sqdn w.e.f. 8.11.44:

The pictures below show F/Lt Liefooghe and crew:

Click image F/Lt Liefooghe crew
L-to-R: F/Lt Liefooghe (P), Sgt Higgins, Sgt Hughes, Sgt Jones, Sgt Davidson, Sgt Anderson, Sgt Anthony

Lancaster NG336/BQ-B of "A" Flight was flown by the F/Lt Liefooghe crew when it was lost on the 16 March 1945 on a raid on Nuremberg. All of the crew, with the exception of F/Lt Liefgooghe, were killed in the crash at Schwäbisch Hall, not far from the Luftwaffe airfield at Hessental (now known as Schwäbisch Hall-Hessental airfield - Flugplatz, AKA Adolf Würth Airport). The aircraft took off at 1724 from Base 13 otherwise known as North Killingholme. The six crew who perished were laid to rest in Durnbach War Cemetery. On this flight Sgt Anderson, the regular MU/AG, was not flying (it is believed forced to go sick that afternoon) and it was his stand-in (below) that was killed.

Soon after departure there was a communications failure and no other communications were heard from her again. The aircraft maintained radio silence (as would be standard operating procedure) however during the mission it was attacked by a Luftwaffe night fighter. Post-war it was determined that a Bf 110 or Ju 88G of II./NJG 6 (2nd Squadron of Night Fighter Wing 6) was more than likely the aircraft that shot NG336 down.

Other information about the flight and the target available here.

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

This web-link contains a number of photos of what are claimed to fragments of NG336 retrieved from a district at the Einkorn Forest.

F/Lt Robert Liefooghe (P)

The only survivor of the crash was F/Lt Liefooghe who then became a PoW.

Click image F/Lt Robert Liefooghe
Thanks to Steven Volckaerts for making the photo available