Mark Leslie Abramson                          Updated: 11 OCT 2021

Airman: a003005.htm Surname: Abramson Init: M L Rank: F/O Service: RCAF Sqdn: 576

P_link: p314.htm Plane: LAN ME726 Operation: Minelaying Crash_site: Gamtofte.

Crash_d: d160544 Buried_d: b160544 C_link: c003.htm At_Next: Assens

Den 16. maj 1944 blev LAN ME726 skudt ned over Gamtofte her på vej til mineudlægning i Kiel Bugt.
Da RAF ikke havde andre større operationer den nat blev formationen hurtigt sporet af det tyske radarsystem, og 3 Lancasters blev skudt ned over dansk område. De 2 andre var LAN LL963 ved Avernakø
og LAN LL984 i Nordsøen. (Kilde: FT 86-66-33)

 "Et "Lancaster" fly på mineudlægningsoperation blev den 16. maj 1944 kort efter midnat skudt ned over
Syd-Fyn. Flyets last af miner eksploderede, da det ramte jorden ved sydsiden af en lille dam i præstegårds-haven i Gamtofte. Præstegården, kirken og en del ejendomme i byen blev stærkt beskadiget, i hvert fald præstegården i en sådan grad, at en ny måtte bygges.

Hele flyets besætning blev dræbt. De omkomne blev begravet den 16. maj 1944, tilsyneladende af den
tyske værnemagt.
Sognets beboere rejste en mindesten ved nedstyrtningsstedet i Gamtofte." (FAF)

Flying Officer (Navigator) Mark Leslie Abramson, 30 år, var søn af Louis og Dora Abramson, Ottawa,
Ontario, Canada. (Kilde: CWGC)
I Davidsstjernen: Må hans sjæl være bundet i livets bylt. (Oversættelse fra Eduard Hartogsohn, som
tilføjer: De fem bogstaver, T  N  Ts  B  H, der står nederst på en jødisk gravsten, er forbogstaver for de
fem ord:tehi nafsho tserurah betseror hachajjim - må hans sjæl være bundet i livets knippe/bylt/pose.)

Se artikel Den nat himlen faldt ned af Lone Theils i Berlingske Tidende lørdag den 24. april 2004 og
Foto af Ernest James Presland.
Avisartikler på engelsk og dansk gav kontakter med Elisabeth Ege Olsen som anker på dansk side, så familiemedlemmer besøgte Fyn i 2004 og i 2005.
Graven med Mark Leslie Abramson blev besøgt af 2 medlemmer af hans familie i 2005.
Se  Besøget 2004 * Doris Hendrick * Faldne engelske flyvere mindes * Assens i engelsk avis * Propellen  Gamtofte 16. maj 2004 * Besøg fra Canada 2005.
Mere om senere besøg og om flyet på siden LAN ME726. 8 flyvere.

On 16 May 1944 LAN ME726 was shot down over Gamtofte here on its way to Kiel Bay on a minelaying mission. The formation was quickly traced by the
German radar system, as the RAF had no other greater operations that night, and 3 Lancasters were shot down over Danish territory. The 2 others were LAN LL963
at Avernakø and LAN LL984 in the North Sea. (Source: FT 86-66-33)

"Shortly after midnight on 16 May 1944 a Lancaster on a minelaying operation was shot down over South Funen. The bomb load of mines exploded when the plane hit
the ground at the south side of a small pond in the garden of the rectory in Gamtofte. The rectory, the church and a number of houses in the village were severely
damaged - at least the rectory so much that a new house had to be built.

All of the crew were killed. The perished were buried on 16 May 1944, apparently by the German Wehrmacht.
The residents of the parish of Gamtofte erected a memorial stone at the crash site in Gamtofte." (FAF)

Flying Officer (Navigator) Mark Leslie Abramson, 30, was the son of Louis and Dora Abramson, of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. (Source: CWGC)
Son of Louis and Dora Abramson  Ottawa, Ontario  Canada.
(In the Star of David:) May his soul be bound up in the bond of everlasting life. (Translation from Eduard Hartogsohn who adds that the letters T N Ts B H at the bottom of a Jewish gravestone are from the words tehi nafsho tserurah betseror hachajjim meaning May his soul be bound up in the bond of everlasting life.)
The Canadian Virtual War Memorial has this. He is remembered on The Walls of Names at the International Bomber Command Centre, Phase 1, Panel 1.

See article Den nat himlen faldt ned (The night the sky came down) by Lone Theils in Berlingske Tidende on 24 April 2004 and Photo of Ernest James Presland.
Articles in English and Danish gave contacts with Elisabeth Ege Olsen as the Danish anchor, so relatives of the airmen visited Funen in 2004 and in 2005.
The grave of Mark Leslie Abramson was visited by 2 members of his family in 2005. They were unable to attend the commemoration in 2004.
See The visit 2004 * Doris Hendrick * Programme * After 60 years families visit aircrew´s graves * The propeller * Gamtofte 16 May 2004 * A visit from Canada 2005.
More about later visits and about the plane on LAN ME726. 8 airmen.