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Anyone with good Lancaster references....


John

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Yes - it was MK 1 - with 12 Sqdn. - it had a short life - diving into the Firth of Fourth 6th July 1943, having been delivered in the preceding February. It appears to have been built by A V Roe.

I think 12 Sqdn. was at Wickenby (No1 Group). The code was PH-J2 (later allocated to JA922) However the letters GZ were used by C Flight from early 1943.

Incidentally Mr Robertson's Book must have been a labour of love, being pre computer and involving and incredible amount of research.

Do you need anything else John - have a bit of info on the Lancaster generally.

David.

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Thanks gents. It did indeed crash into the River Forth, rather than the Firth of Forth, a few metres upstream from Kincardine Bridge. The wreck is still in the shallows of the river. The pilot, Squadron Leader R G L Baxter and one of the gunners, Sgt William Bartlett, were buried in the military plot of Grandsable (Grangemouth) cemetery. The others were returned to their families.

grandsable1009.jpg

It's one of my medium term projects to build a model of this aircraft for Grangemouth Heritage Centre.

John

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Thanks gents. It did indeed crash into the River Forth, rather than the Firth of Forth, a few metres upstream from Kincardine Bridge. The wreck is still in the shallows of the river.

Which side? Is any of it visible? I know there are a few bits and pieces of boat visible on the north shore.

One to impress (not) the kids next time we drive across

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Its lying in the shallows off the mouth of the Pow Burn. Whether you can make much out or not depends on the condition of the tide. The aircraft exploded in flight, so its parts of the nose and tail that are usually visible.

I've asked the district archaeologist if the wreck has been photographed and if any turn up I'll post them, failing that he and I may be getting our wellies on!

John

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Pity the shots on Microsoft Live were taken on that section when the tide was in! (Lower section the tide was out!)

If you need someone to hold your safety rope, give me a shout!

BTW, seen this?

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn41...09/ai_n13937765

I don't think Ian is based in Grangemouth anymore, but he might have somemore info - IIRC there was a post about him on the Key forums recently.

Edited by Dave Fleming
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Apparently the Falkirk Council archive doesn't have a photo of the wreck so next step is Falkirk Local History Society, who did a major survey of the Pow Burn and its environs to identify and record James IV's royal dockyard.

The talk of sabotage in the article linked above seems a bit melodramatic to me.

John

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 5 years later...

I Know this is an old thread but I paid a visit to the Pow burn today but was unable to see any remains of ED 548. As it approches the 70th anniversary of the crash does anyone know if there are any plans for any kind of memorial or commemoration for the crew? Also did anyone manage to get any photos of the area? Thanks for any info you can provide.

Edited by exrafrigger
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