James George Wilson Swain   Photo: Knud Riis   Updated: 26 NOV 2021

Airman: a014145.htm Surname: Swain Init: JGW Rank: W/Cdr Service: RAF Sqdn: 100

P_link: p167.htm Plane: LAN ED709 Operation: Bomb G Crash_site: Ringkøbing Fjord

Crash_d: d210443 Buried_d: b270943 C_link: c014.htm At_Next: Esbjerg, A. 9. 19

Efter at have bombet Stettin blev Lancaster ED 709 på hjemvejen ramt af flak ved Jyllands vestkyst.
Kl. 03:28 styrtede det i Ringkøbing Fjord på lavt vand her ca. 600 m fra kysten. Alle 7 besætnings-
medlemmer blev dræbt ved styrtet. 1 mand har ikke nogen kendt grav. De 6 andre blev begravet
efterhånden som de blev fundet -  Sgt R.A. Whellams i 1998!
I første omgang blev Sgt T. Carter og Sgt R.S. Sidwell begravet som ukendte - senere identificeret af
danskere. Se Helge W. Gram - Lancaster ED709.
Se fotos og mere i Flyvere identificeret  1 * 2 * 3 * 4 * 5  Google Map p167 Lancaster ED709

22 SEP 1943. En flyver fundet i vandet omkring her 500-600 m nordvest for Velling Kirke. Identitetsmærke
"J.G. Swain - OFFR - CoFE - 39.136 - R.A.F." (Kilde: Politirapport 2224)
Wing Commander (Pilot) J.G.W. Swain blev begravet i Esbjerg 27 SEP 1943.
                                         
Wing Commander (Pilot) James George Wilson Swain, 29 år, var søn af Comdr. J. G. W. Swain og Susannah Rose Swain, Southampton, United Kingdom. Hæder: Mentioned in Despatches. (Kilde: CWGC)
Teksten på latin Illi Robur et Aes circa triplex pectus erat er fra Horats ode til Virgil:
"Der var egens styrke i ham og tredobbelt bronze om hans bryst . . ."
(Han var en udholdende og anset mand. Kilde: Helge William Gram: Skudt ned over Danmark, s. 104)
Se Lancaster fotos og  Stettin + Rostock 20 - 21 April 1943. 7 flyvere.

Returning from a bombing raid to Stettin Lancaster ED 709 was hit by flak at the west coast of Jutland.
At 03:28 it crashed into the shallow waters of the Ringkøbing Fjord here about 600 m off the coast. All 7 members of the crew perished in the crash. 1 man has no known grave. The 6 others were buried in the
course of time when they were found - Sgt R.A. Whellams in 1998!
At first SgtT. Carter and Sgt R.S. Sidwell were buried as unknown - later identified by Danes.
See Helge W. Gram - Lancaster ED709.
See photos and more on Airmen identified 1*2*3*4*5   Google Map p167 Lancaster ED709

22 SEP 1943 An airman found in the water about here 500-600 m north west of Velling Church.
ID tag  "J.G. Swain - OFFR - CoFE - 39.136 - R.A.F." (Source: Police report 2224)
Wing Commander (Pilot) J.G.W. Swain was buried in Esbjerg on 27 SEP 1943.

Wing Commander (Pilot) James George Wilson Swain, 29, was the son of Comdr. J. G. W. Swain
and Susannah Rose Swain, of Southampton, United Kingdom. Awards: Mentioned in Despatches. (Source: CWGC)
The inscription in Latin Illi Robur et Aes circa triplex pectus erat is from Horace´s Ode to Virgil:
He had the strength of the oak tree and bronze in triple encircled his breast
(A man of great endurance and of high standing - Source: Helge W. Gram: Shot down over Denmark, p. 107)
He is remembered on The Walls of Names at the International Bomber Command Centre, Phase 1, Panel 103. 

See No.100 Squadron RAF-Wikipedia * No. 100 Squadron Association * RAF-Lincolnshire with RAF Grimsby * Lancaster * Lancaster Photos.
Lancaster III ED709 HW-S took off from RAF Grimsby at 21.59 hrs on 20 APR 1943. (Source: Aircrew Remembered has this.)
It had a Rolls-Royce Merlin variant XX engine produced by Rolls-Royce in the United Kingdom. (Source: The RAF Museum, London)
See Stettin + Rostock 20 - 21 April 1943. 7 airmen.