Loss area of two 264 Sqn Mosquito's

[Rob Philips]

Gentlemen,

On March 11th, 1943, two 264 Sqn Mosquito's were lost at sea, one quite possibly close to Dinard, Brittany, France, where one of the four crew is buried:

Mosquito DD661
F/O(P) PIERS, Arthur W.J. - 115435 - RAF - Runnymede Panel 128
F/Sgt(N) HILL, Thomas B. - 655059 - RAF - RP137

Mosquito DD721
F/O(P) LAWRENCE, Charles R. - 133007 - RAF - Buried Dinard English Cem gr. A/7
F/O(N) STANLEY, Anthony H. - 119218 - RAF - RP129

Does any-one have information about the crash areas?

Regards,

Rob

[dan35]

Hello Rob,
We as a source of loss, killed at sea

[RecklessRat]

Hi Rob,

From the 264 Sqn. ORB F541:

11/12 Mar 43 Target Rennes area/Aircraft not yet returned

Ditto'd for both aircraft.

F540: (Flying from Colerne)

11th....F/O. A.W.J.PIERS & F/S.T.B.HILL (N/R) and F/O.A.H.STANLEY & P/O.C.R.LAWRENCE (N/R) took off at approx 21.15 on night ranger in the Rennes area and failed to return.

12th....F/L W.F.GIBB Pilot and F/O.F.MOUNTAIN N/R took off from Portreath at 0825 to search for F/O. A.W.J.PIERS & F/S.T.B.HILL in Night Ranger 14 and F/O.A.H.STANLEY & P/O.C.R.LAWRENCE in Night Ranger 15 who failed to return from Intruding the previous night. Nothing was seen tho' they searched creeks and coves in French coast.


The F540 refers to Appendix G and Appendix H, however unfortunately I don't have access to the appendix volume (AIR 27/1555).

Hope this helps,

Jeff

[Henk Welting]

Our fellow air war historian Rob Philips died of illness 1st August 2010. Born 7.1.1952. In his memoriam was mentioned: "In the final years of his life, Rob dedicated himself to preserving the memories of those airmen who fought the good fight in the skies of his beloved Holland in those dark days of the Second World War. He has now earned his own wings and flies with them. Per adua ad astra, the motto of the RAF: Through Adversity To The Stars. Now a fitting tribute to Rob".
Best regards,
Henk.

[Steve Brew]

Hi Henk

I am deeply shocked by this news. I had a lot of contact with Rob over the past few years, even up to recently. He was a wonderful chap, who was always happy to share his research and assisted me with information on the loss of 'Charlie' van Goens. He also kindly allowed me to quote some of his work.

He made a significant contribution to this site, and was much too young to leave us all.

May he rest in peace.

Steve

[dan35]

Hello,

I am also very saddened to learn of the death of Rob, we exchanged emails over the losses of airmen from the RAF in Britanny.