The last flight of Lancaster ED559
  • About ED559
  • The Crew
  • Building ED559
  • RAF Grimsby (Waltham)
  • 100 Squadron
  • The Target
  • The Lost
  • Remembering ED559
  • Research about ED559
    • Caterpillar Club
    • Lancaster loss card
    • Crew memorials
    • F/Lt Richard A Curle RAFVR Record of Service
    • Harry Riding's Flying Log Book - 1942/43
    • Letter from Wing Commander J.G. Swain
    • Night Bomber Report
    • Guy Normandin
    • German defences in the Gironde
    • RAF Gardening Operations during the Second World War
    • Pilot Officer Robert Herbert Chapman
  • About me
  • Links
  • Contact
  • Blog
  • Wheel

The Last Flight of Lancaster ED559

The history of a bomber and seven-man crew lost in March 1943

BEGIN STORY
This is the story of a lost Lancaster bomber. It is also the story of the seven men lost with her. In early March 1943, Lancaster ED559 left RAF Grimsby to drop sea mines in the Gironde Estuary in western France. This was the first operation for a rebuilt No. 100 Squadron RAF.  After leaving their base nothing more was heard from the aircraft. Later, the body of the aircraft's pilot was retrieved from the sea and buried on the French island of d'Oléron. What happened to that aircraft may never be fully known but this site details information about the crew, their Lancaster bomber, the target that night and what may have happened that dark night over occupied France.
Home
About ED559
The Crew
Building ED559
​RAF Grimsby (Waltham)
​100 Squadron RAF
​The Target
​The Lost Airmen
Remembering ED559
About Me
Research
Blog

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  • About ED559
  • The Crew
  • Building ED559
  • RAF Grimsby (Waltham)
  • 100 Squadron
  • The Target
  • The Lost
  • Remembering ED559
  • Research about ED559
    • Caterpillar Club
    • Lancaster loss card
    • Crew memorials
    • F/Lt Richard A Curle RAFVR Record of Service
    • Harry Riding's Flying Log Book - 1942/43
    • Letter from Wing Commander J.G. Swain
    • Night Bomber Report
    • Guy Normandin
    • German defences in the Gironde
    • RAF Gardening Operations during the Second World War
    • Pilot Officer Robert Herbert Chapman
  • About me
  • Links
  • Contact
  • Blog
  • Wheel