John Ian Mitchell                                                                                     Updated: 12 MAY 2021

Airman: e777140.htm Surname: Mitchell Init: J I Rank: Sgt Service: RAF Sqdn: 9

P_link: p142.htm Plane: LAN ED494 Operation: Minelaying Crash_site: The Baltic Sea

Crash_d: d140343 Buried_d: e777 C_link: e777.htm At_Next: NO KNOWN

LAN ED494 startede den 13. marts 1943 fra RAF Waddington på en minelægningsmission til Gdynia/Gdansk. Flyet styrtede ned ud for Rønne. Se p142MACR.

"17 Lancasters fra 5 Bomb Group skulle minere forskellige steder i Østersøen. Ved Gdynia lå tæt tåge og flyene til denne lokalitet måtte søge alternative nedkastningssteder. Kl. 00.10 blev et ukendt firemotorers bombefly beskudt af den tyske marine i Rønne Havn (her), og fra flere tyske krigsskibe, der lå opankret ud for havnen. Flyet styrtede brændende i havet, og næste dag blev forskellige vragrester fundet i området. Lancaster ED494 var RAF´s eneste tab over Østersøen denne nat, og man har aldrig fundet spor af besætningen." (FT 87-92-1)

Sergeant John Ian Mitchell, 20 år, var søn af Ronald og May Mitchell, Oxhey, Hertfordshire, United Kingdom.
Hans navn er på Panel 159 på the Runnymede Memorial blandt mere end 20.000 navne på flyvere, der ikke har en kendt grav. (Kilde: CWGC)

Se Minelægningsområder * Lancaster fotos. 7 flyvere.

On 13 March 1943 LAN ED494 took off from RAF Waddington on a minelaying mission to Gdynia/Gdansk. The plane crashed off Rønne. See p142MACR.

"17 Lancasters from  5 Bomb Group were to lay mines a number of places in the Baltic Sea. At Gdynia there was dense fog, and the planes for this target had to find alternative drop zones. An unknown  4-engined bomber was shot at by the German navy in Rønne Harbour (here) and from several German navy vessels at anchor off the harbour. The plane crashed, burning, into the sea, and debris was found in the area the following day. Lancaster ED494 was the RAF´s only loss over the Baltic Sea this night, and no trace of the crew has ever been found." (FT 87-92-1)

Sergeant John Ian Mitchell, 20, was the son of Ronald and May Mitchell, of Oxhey, Hertfordshire, United Kingdom.
He is commemorated on the Runnymede Memorial, Panel 159, among more than 20,000 airmen who have no known grave. (Source: CWGC)
He is remembered on The Walls of Names at the International Bomber Command Centre, Phase 1, Panel 75.

See No. 9 Squadron RAF - Wikipedia * IX(B) Squadron - Lincolnshire.info * IX Squadron Association  *  Lancaster Photos *  Minelaying areas
Lancaster III ED494 WS-M took off from RAF Waddington at 20.08 hrs on 13 MAR 1943. (Source: Aircrew Remembered has this.) 7 airmen.