The Final Mission of Lancaster II DS682
Mission
Took off from RAF Waterbeach at 22.58 hrs on Saturday 22nd April 1944.
DS 682 was part of a force of 596 aircraft - 323 Lancasters, 254 Halifaxes, 19 Mosquitoes. From all groups in Bomber Command, except 5 Group.
DS 682 was loaded with one 8000 lb bomb, forty eight 30 lb bombs, four hundred and eighty six 4 lb bombs, and fifty-four 4 lb incendiaries. 1360 gallons of petrol were also taken, which allowed approximately 61/2 hours flying time. The anticipated duration of the flight was approximately 4 hours and 7 minutes.
The mission was to bomb Dusseldorf in the industrial Ruhr Valley, Germany. A total of 2150 tons of bombs were dropped in this heavy attack. German night-fighters intercepted the bomber stream at an early stage in the mission.
The attack fell mainly in the northern districts of Dusseldorf. Causing widespread damage. According to the local German report, the statistics were: 56 large industrial premises hit (of which 7 were completely destroyed) Over 2000 houses destroyed or badly damaged. Casualties recorded by 14.00 on 25th April, were 883 people killed, 593 injured and 403 still to be dug out of wrecked buildings; at least three quarters of this last figure would have been dead.
Of the 596 aircraft that took part in this raid, 29 did not return. 16 Halifaxes and 13 Lancasters. Which was 4.9% of the total force. DS 682 was from 514 Squadron which lost three aircraft (including DS 682), on this mission.
The Crew
Lancaster aircraft had a crew of seven men. The crew on this mission were:
Flying Officer Maurice Linden Morgan-Owen, aged 20. Who was the pilot.
Flight Sergeant Alan William Green, aged 23. Who was the navigator.
Flying Officer George Alexander Jacobson, aged 27. Who was the bomb aimer.
Sergeant Ernest 'Sunny' Gledhill, aged 22. Who was the wireless operator and air gunner.
Sergeant Alfred Douglas Tetley, aged 23. Who was the mid upper gunner.
Sergeant Herbert Stanley 'Bub' Hayward, aged 27. Who was the rear gunner.
Sergeant Henry Leo Sadler, aged 25. Who was the flight engineer.
Maurice Morgan-Owen. Photo courtesy of the Morgan-Owen family.
Maurice Morgan-Owen with his crew (Sunny's final crew). Identified are: Back row left to right - unknown Airman, F/Officer Morgan-Owen, Sgt H. Stanley Hayward, F/Officer George A. Jacobson. Other three Airman are any of the following - Sgt Alfred D. Tetley, Sgt Henry Sadler, Flight Sgt Alan W. Green, and Sgt F. Barrett. Photo courtesy of the Morgan-Owen family.
DS 682 was supposed to return to Waterbeach at 03.00 on Sunday the 23rd of April. At 02.56, an SOS message was received from the aircraft. Their position was over the sea, approximately 70 miles west off the Dutch coast. Nothing more was heard from the aircraft. According to the acting Squadron Leader at the time, Barney Reid, at first light an Air Sea Rescue aircraft was despatched to look for the crew. Barney Reid personally took part in this. However, despite good visibility, nothing was found.
Crash site (Click to view a larger picture)
Two of the crew were eventually washed ashore in the East Frisian Islands, off the northern coast of Germany. They were Sergeant Sadler, originally buried on the island of Nordeney and Sergeant Tetley, originally buried on the island of Baltrum. They are now both buried in the Sage War Graves Cemetery in Germany.
Sgt H. Stanley Hayward (in background) and a fellow crew member. Photo courtesy of the Morgan-Owen family.
