Ed862/p

[Pathfinder]

Hey all,

I've been doing research on my great uncle (P/O D.J. Marks DFM) and his crew who were lost on July 29, 1943 with Lancaster III ED862/P.

I'm thinking of seeing if the crew has any surviving relatives, so I can get in touch with them. I've also looked at Helmut Lent's operational record on the net, and at my great uncle's operational record, and it says he was possibly shot down by Helmut Lent. Below is the information from a website I found;

73 30.7.1943 2:10 Lancaster IV./NJG 1 RM 66d in See

I've always wondered if this kill was ED862, but I'm at a dead end.

Any help is appreciated to get me in the right direction.

[Kyt]

To start with a hell of a lot of aircraft were lost on that night, as you probably know. Assuming that he identified the aircraft correctly as a Lancaster, then of the following the possibles are marked in bold. It should be noted that his claim was over the North Sea:

JA692 Lost in the target are (hamburg)
ED468 crashed on takeoff
ED616 Shotdown by Flak in the target locale
ED782 Shot down by a night-fighter and crashed into the North Sea. All but two of the crew were found and buried
ED862 Lost without trace
EE172 Shotdown by night fighter (not a candidate because it seems to have been shotdown over land)
ED822 Shotdown by night fighter (not a candidate because it seems to have been shotdown over land)
ED535 shot down by a night-fighter (Lippe-Weissenfeld of 111./NJG1)
JA689 shot down by a night-fighter (Lövenich of II./ JG 300)
ED534 Lost without trace
ED931 Shot down by a night-fighter, exploded and crashed at Tostedt.
ED598 shot down by a night-fighter (not a candidate because it seems to have been shotdown over land)

However, it may not have been a Lancaster!

It maybe worth asking in the Luftwaffe section of Luftwaffe and Allied Air Forces Discussion Forum - Powered by vBulletin as there are many experts who have access to original documents etc

[David Layne]

Hello Pathfinder. ED 862 was my father's aircraft. He and his crew flew many missions in this aircraft the last being 25/7/43 to Essen before being stood down for a rest.

Attached are photographs of this aircraft with my father's crew.

Here is a link to 97 Squadron orbs pertinent to this time frame.

97 Squadron Association - Flight Operations

97 Squadron Association - Flight Operations

[Pathfinder]

Thanks Dave.

Kyt, I've asked at the forum you mentioned. I was just wondering, if Lent did not shoot them down, maybe engine trouble or battle damage caused ED862 to ditch in the North Sea?

[Antipodean Andy]

Hi mate, have you referenced Max Lambert's Night after Night assuming your GU is a Kiwi?