A. W. G. Lyne                                                                                         Updated: 03 MAY 2021

Airman: o888118.htm Surname: Lyne Init: AWG Rank: LAC Service: RAF Sqdn: 51

P_link: p005.htm Plane: WHI K9048 Operation: Attack DK Crash_site: At Hadsund

Crash_d: d240440 Buried_d: o888 C_link: o888.htm At_Next: POW

Den 24. april 1940 var WHI K9048 en af 6 Whitleys, der angreb Rødslet Flyveplads (Aalborg West her. Se også Tyske flyvepladser ved Aalborg.) Flyet blev ramt af flak, lige da pilot F/Lt Keith Milne havde kastet den sidste bombe i nærheden af flyvepladsen. "Venstre motor stoppede øjeblikkelig, og højre motor fik skudt oliebeholderen væk. Uden olietilførsel ville motoren hurtigt blive varm og antagelig bryde i brand. Piloten kaldte derfor de øvrige fire besætningsmedlemmer over samtaleanlægget, og man opdagede derved, at agterskytten, LAC F. Hargraves, havde forladt flyet. Han var sprunget ud med fladskærm og blev om morgenen fundet af tyskerne i bevidstløs tilstand i nærheden af Limfjorden. Piloten foretog en perfekt nødlanding på en mark ved "Fuglegård" (omkring her 6 km nordvest for Hadsund) og besætningen forsøgte at sætte ild til flyet, men det lykkedes ikke. De fire besætningsmedlemmer delte sig i to grupper.

F/Lt Milne og 2. piloten/navigatøren F/Lt Bernard W. Hayward gik sammen, da de begge var canadiere, der havde søgt ind i RAF, mens næseskytten Sgt J.B. Ritchie og radiooperatøren LAC A.W.G. Lyne dannede den anden gruppe. Milne og Hayward nåede tidligt om morgenen frem til gården "Svalhøjgård" (her), hvor familien Lykke Ravnborg bød dem på mad og varm kaffe. De fik anvist vejen mod Hadsund og begav sig mætte ud over markerne. Senere havnede de hos familien Engberg på "Mariehøj", der også bespiste dem og gav dem sko i stedet for de tunge og ubekvemme flyverstøvler. De ønskede at forlade landet, men efter at have fået forklaret situationen i Danmark, besluttede de at overgive sig til tyskerne, idet de mente, at krigen kun ville vare et års tid. Der blev ringet efter politiet i Hadsund, som hurtigt kom og kørte flyverne til Aalborg.

Den 28. april kunne man i England høre Radio Hamburg og  Lord Haw-Haw give følgende meddelelse: "An Armstrong Whitley bomber has been brought down and the following are prisoners of War - Milne, Hayward, Ritchie and Lyne". Fra Aalborg blev flyverne transporteret til Tyskland i en Ju52." (FT 90-43-1) 
5 flyvere. Se Google Map 51 Squadron.

Fra Birte Overgaard, Lokalhistorisk Arkiv i Hadsund:
Martin Overgaard Nielsen 1*2 / Emma Engberg / Hayward-da 1*2 / Marie Jensen / Oluf Schou 1*2 / Karl Lykke Ravnborg 1*2 / KORT

On 24 April 1940 WHI K9048 was one of 6 Whitleys to attack Rødslet Airfield (Aalborg West here. See also German airfields near Aalborg.) It was hit by flak just as Pilot F/Lt Keith Milne had dropped the last bomb near the airfield. "The port engine immediately stopped, and the starboard engine had the oil tank shot away. Without supply of oil the engine would soon get hot and catch fire. Therefore the pilot called the other 4 crew members on the intercom, and it was discovered that Rear Gunner, LAC F. Hargraves had abandoned the plane. He had bailed out, and in the morning he was found unconscious near the Limfjorden. The pilot made a perfect forced landing in a field at "Fuglegård" (about here 6 km north west of Hadsund). The crew tried to set fire to the plane, but they did not succeed. The 4 crew members split up into two groups.

F/Lt Milne and Co-Pilot / Navigator F/Lt Bernard W. Hayward teamed up as both of them were Canadians, who had joined the RAF, while Nose Air Gunner Sgt J.B. Ritchie and Radio Operator LAC A.W.G. Lyne formed the other group. Early in the morning Milne and Hayward came to the farm "Svalhøjgård" (here) where the Lykke Ravnborgs offered them food and hot coffee. They were shown the way towards Hadsund. They were full when they walked across the fields. Later they ended up with the Engbergs at "Mariehøj". Here they had food and they got shoes instead of their heavy and inconvenient flying boots. They wished to leave the country, but after the situation in Denmark had been explained to them they decided to surrender to the Germans, as they thought that the war would only last about a year. The police in Hadsund was called, and the airmen were soon picked up and taken to Aalborg.

On 28 April 1940 in England Lord Haw-Haw was heard on Radio Hamburg giving this announcement: "An Armstrong Whitley bomber has been brought down and the following are prisoners of War - Milne, Hayward, Ritchie and Lyne". From Aalborg the airmen were taken to Germany in a Ju52." (FT 90-43-1)

From Birte Overgaard, Hadsund Archives of Local History: K9048-1 * K9048-2 * Hayward-en * MAP
See Whitley * No. 51 Squadron RAF - Wikipedia * No. 51 Bomb Squadron * The 51 Squadron Website * Google Map 51 Squadron * p005MACR.
Whitley IV K9048  MH-   took off from RAF Dishforth at 22.10 hrs on 23 APR 1940 on a bombing raid to Aalborg Airfield. (Source: Aircrew Remembered has this.)
5 airmen