Canadian crew

[captain_m]

Hello there Everyone
I’m still researching the events of 6/1/1945, does anyone know the fate of Canadian Lancaster KB821 flown by B M Adilman? Thanks to everyone who answered my previous posting, I’m still sifting through the info from Richard K.
Cheers
NM

[dfuller52]

From the Lancaster Museum Site

http://www.lancastermuseum.ca/lancavro.html#indexkb821

KB821 C/N #37122 code.. SE-P

Flown to England and assigned to #431(B) Squadron at Croft on 9.11.44; went missing on a night 482-a/c raid on Hanover/Hanau. Lost were the crew of:
F/L B.M.Adilman,
L.K. James, (N)(G.R.Pool,)
F/O (AG) A.W. Staves
T. McQuilty
(AG) W.G.Gillisie
(B) F.J.Nickerson
6/7.1.45

Another record on the Lancaster Museum site says it was a collision.

http://www.lancaster-archive.com/lanc_kb-l%20fate.pdf

Also check out

http://www.bombercrew.com/pedrazzini.htm (former crew on this a/c)

http://www.lancastermuseum.ca/noseartnls35.html

[captain_m]

Thanks for those links. I checked them out and it seems to confirm KB821may have collided. You are the first and only person to reply to this post, so thanks again. Digging up information on KB821 is proving very elusive.

The CWGC web site indicates that 3 crewmembers ended up in Durnbach War Cemetery whilst the others are commemorated on the Runnymede Memorial (obviously the remaining 4 were never found). The answers to my questions lie buried somewhere in the AIR81 P4(Cas) files which are still classified. At the moment it feels like the plane vanished off the face of the earth.
NM

[dfuller52]

Your welcome, it was no trouble. The next thing to do, if you haven't already, is to send a request into Library & Archives Canada and request the service file of all the crew members who were killed. Since they were all RCAF, you will get a file on all of these men. It is currently taking about eight months to get them back, but they will send you a package of information that may reveal more about the crash but will certainly tell you more about the men themselves.

http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/genealogy/022-909.007-e.html

The other thing to check is the ORB for that squadron. You can look up most of what it will tell you on the 6 Group web site in the Daily Operations for that date but there may be notes from previous missions where they are mentioned.

http://www.rcaf.com/6group/Jan45/Jan6~745.html

[BillG]

Bill Chorley in his Bomber Command Losses has the crew positions as;F/Lt Adilman-Pilot,
F/O James-Flt engineer,
F/O Pool-Navigator
F/O Nickerson- Bomb Aimer
F/O McQuitty- W/Op
F/O Staves- A/G
P/O Gillissie- AG.
Flying Officer Pool completed a tour as a bomb aimer and then re-mustered as a navigator for a second tour during which he was killed.
Hope this is of use,
Bill.

[captain_m]

I'll contact the Canadian Archives and see what I can find. Thanks guys, for the information so far. Have a good Christmas and New Year
NM

[Willy Reinstaedt]

At the moment it feels like the plane vanished off the face of the earth.

One idea is, that it crashed in pieces into a forest - maybe after a possible collision with the Lancaster PB228

[mz589]

Hello there Everyone
I’m still researching the events of 6/1/1945, does anyone know the fate of Canadian Lancaster KB821 flown by B M Adilman? Thanks to everyone who answered my previous posting, I’m still sifting through the info from Richard K.
Cheers
NM

There is a photo of crew member Gillisie on my website:

http://www.bombercrew.com/WGSorel/gillisie.htm

I believe i also have a photo of Adilman in my archives, I will check and let you know.

Matt

[Willy Reinstaedt]

Excuse
I forgot to say, that I mean a muddy forest. (see my post below)

So if this was the reality, Captain M has right as he wrote “… it feels like the plane vanished off the face of the earth. “

And if the wet ground will be drying – slowly, but it do – and also with a little bit luck, maybe some possibly elements of a wreck come back to surface sometimes.
(A process like this has something to do with geology)

But that’s all is only one theory …

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From time to time, the history must tell us some of their secrets – not all can be saved ;-)

[alcluith]

Thanks for those links. I checked them out and it seems to confirm KB821may have collided. You are the first and only person to reply to this post, so thanks again. Digging up information on KB821 is proving very elusive.

The CWGC web site indicates that 3 crewmembers ended up in Durnbach War Cemetery whilst the others are commemorated on the Runnymede Memorial (obviously the remaining 4 were never found). The answers to my questions lie buried somewhere in the AIR81 P4(Cas) files which are still classified. At the moment it feels like the plane vanished off the face of the earth.
NM

I have doing some research on PB228 which is believed to have collided with KB821 and there is a lot of speculation that 5 of the crew were murdered by civilians and I think the water is mudded by the fact they are believed to have bailed out by their Pilot Ft/Lt Rowland and somehow they are mixed up with the remains of the crew of KB821. Do you know if any survived the crash or were all killed it may be that the 4 missing crew have been wrongly identified as that of PB228.

regards

Alcluith