Ronald Kenneth Stratford                 Updated: 14 OCT 2024

Airman: a002004.htm Surname: Stratford Init: R K Rank: F/O Service: RAF Sqdn: 460

P_link: p366.htm Plane: LAN NE144 Operation: Bomb G Crash_site: Sea off Anholt.

Crash_d: d300844 Buried_d: b040944 C_link: c002.htm At_Next: Anholt

Den 30. august 1944 nødlandede LAN NE144 i Kattegat nord for Anholt omkring her under bombe-
togt til Stettin (Szczecin). Flyvehistorisk Tidsskrift skriver:
"Kl. 21.06 lettede LAN NE144 fra Binbrook i Lincolnshire. Udturen var stille og rolig, indtil flyet over den
jyske østkyst pludselig blev angrebet bagfra af en tysk natjager. Agterskytten Sgt Philip Bodein Aviet
blev hårdt såret, og hele halepartiet brød i brand. For at genvinde kontrol over flyet, måtte piloten F/Lt
Kevin Willoughby Humpfries hurtigt kaste bombelasten, der bestod af en enkelt 4000 lb "cookie".
Bomben landede i Kærgade (nr 25 her) i Vorup, en af Randers sydlige forstæder. Fire villaer blev helt ødelagt, andre blev svært beskadiget og i selve Randers blev mange ruder knust. 6 beboere blev dræbt
i Kærgade 24 og 25, og 11 blev såret.
(Se fotos efter bombeeksplosionen.)

Over Kattegat forsøgte rygskytten Sgt Dennis Fallon og telegrafisten F/O Ronald Kenneth Stratford,
DFM, at komme agterskytten til undsætning, mens F/Lt Humpfries satte kursen mod Sverige. Flyet tabte dog langsomt højde, og nord for Anholt (omkring her) nødlandede flyet
på vandet. Halepartiet med Aviet, Fallon og Stratford brækkede af og sank hurtigt, mens det lykkedes
de øvrige 4 flyvere (Flight Lieutenant (Pilot) Kevin Willoughby Humpfries, Flying Officer (Navigator)
T.B. MacNeill, Sergeant (Bomb Aimer) G.D. Walsh og Sergeant (Flight Engineer) S.R. Wild) at komme
fri, og i deres gummibåd begyndte de at drive mod øst.

Om morgenen kl. 05.45 blev de opdaget fra Anholt, og redningsbåden kom ud og samlede dem op. I land blev de overdraget til tyskerne, og efter 4 behagelige dage på øen blev de sejlet til København med den ugentlige forsyningsbåde. Her tilbragte de en uge, før de med tog blev transporteret til Frankfurt, hvor de
efter endt afhøring blev ført til Stalag I ved Barth. Under deres sidste tur blev jernbanelinjen bombet af amerikanerne, men toget blev ikke ramt." (FT 91-7-39)

R.K. Stratford drev ind på Anholt ved Vesterstrand (måske omkring her) den 4. september 1944.
Han blev begravet på Anholt Kirkegård af værnemagten samme dag.
P.B. Aviet og D. Fallon ligger begravet i Falkenberg Skogs Kyrkogaard, som er her. (Kilde: FAF)

Flying Officer (Air Gunner) Ronald Kenneth Stratford var fra United Kingdom. Hæderstegn: DFM, Distinguished Flying Medal. (Kilde: CWGC)

1 flyver fra LAN NE144 blev begravet på Anholt og 2 i Falkenberg i Sverige. 4 flyvere blev sendt til Tyske krigsfangelejre.
Se Lancaster fotos og Operation 30 AUGUST 1944 - ruter og tab. Den britiske bombe i Vorup - og Estruplund (6 MB) i Randers Amtsavis 30 AUG 2014. 7 flyvere.

On 30 August 1944 LAN NE144 ditched in the Kattegat north of Anholt about here on a bombing raid on Stettin. (Danish) Aviation Historical Review writes:

"LAN NE144 took off from RAF Binbrook in Lincolnshire at 21:06. The flight out was calm, till the plane over the west coast of Jutland suddenly was attacked from behind
by a German night fighter. Sergeant (Rear Gunner) Philip Bodein Aviet was severely wounded, and all of the rear part caught fire. To regain control over the plane,
Flight Lieutenant Kevin Willoughby Humpfries very soon had to drop the bomb load consisting of a single 4000 lb "cookie". The bomb landed in Kærgade (no 25 here)
in Vorup, a southern suburb of Randers. Four houses were completely destroyed, others were heavily damaged and many windows were broken in the town of Randers.
6 residents were killed in Kærgade 24 and 25, and 11 were wounded.
(See photos after the bomb detonation.)

Over Kattegat Sergeant (Top Turret Gunner) Dennis Fallon and Flying Officer (Wireless Operator / Air Gunner) Ronald Kenneth Stratford, DFM, tried to rescue the rear gunner, while F/Lt Humpfries headed for Sweden. However, the plane slowly lost altitude, and the plane ditched north of Anholt (about here). The rear
part with Aviet, Fallon and Stratford broke off and quickly sank, but the 4 other airmen (Flight Lieutenant (Pilot) Kevin Willoughby Humpfries, Flying Officer (Navigator)
T.B. MacNeill, Sergeant (Bomb Aimer) G.D. Walsh and Sergeant (Flight Engineer) S.R. Wild) managed to get out, and they drifted towards the east in their dinghy.

In the morning at 05:45 they were spotted from Anholt, and the rescue boat came out and picked them up. On land they were handed over to the Germans, and after
4 pleasant days on the island they were sailed to Copenhagen with the weekly supply boat. Here they spent a week, before they were transported by train to Frankfurt. When the  interrogations had finished (see DULAG LUFT Interrogation Camp) they were taken to Stalag I at Barth. Americans bombed the railway during their last trip, but the train was not hit." (FT 91-7-39)

R.K. Stratford drifted ashore on Anholt at Vesterstrand (maybe about here) on 4 September, 1944. He was buried on the same day in Anholt Cemetery by the
Wehrmacht. P.B. Aviet and D. Fallon rest in Falkenberg Forest Cemetery in Sweden.

Flying Officer (Air Gunner) Ronald Kenneth Stratford was from the United Kingdom. Awards: DFM, Distinguished Flying Medal. (Source: CWGC)

1 airman from LAN NE144 is buried on Anholt and 2 in Falkenberg, Sweden. 4 airmen were taken to German POW-Camps.
The British bomb in Vorup - and Estruplund by Anders Straarup in Randers Amtsavis on 30 AUG 2014.
He is remembered on The Walls of Names at the International Bomber Command Centre, Phase 1, Panel 103.  

See 460 Squadron RAAF * No. 460 Squadron RAAF-Wikipedia * Lancaster photos * Operation 30 AUGUST 1944 - routes and losses. RAF-Lincolnshire.info has this.
Lancaster III NE144 AR-F2 took off from RAF Binbrook at 21:06 on 30 AUG 1944. (Source: Aircrew Remembered has this + p366MACR) 7 airmen.