Bruce Durfee                                                                                             Updated: 19 JAN 2021

Airman: o888309.htm Surname: Durfee Init: B Rank: F/O Service: RCAF Sqdn: 405

P_link: p344.htm Plane: LAN PA988 Operation: Bomb G Crash_site: Near Allindemagle

Crash_d: d170844 Buried_d: o888 C_link: o888.htm At_Next: POW

Den 17. august 1944 kl. 01.45 styrtede LAN PA988 ned nær Allindemagle (her). Flyet eksploderede i luften og blev spredt over et stort område. Se  p344MACR.
Se steder i Google Map p344.

Flyvehistorisk Tidsskrift skriver:
"461 Lancasters skulle bombe Stettin (Szczecin her), medens 348 RAF bombefly minerede i Østersøen. RAF's samlede tab denne nat var 9 Lancasters og
6 Halifaxes. Lancaster PA988
blev angrebet og skudt i brand over Sjælland af en tysk Me410. Mid-upper gunner, P/O Philip Arthur Musgrave, blev dræbt under
angrebet, men det lykkedes resten af besætningen af forlade det brændende fly med faldskærm. To flyvere blev hurtigt taget til fange af tyskerne, men det
lykkedes de resterende fire at få kontakt med modstandsbevægelsen, og efter 10-14 dage var de samlet i
Sverige."
(FT 88-41-29)

F/O A .B. Durfee blev interneret i Stalag L3 Sagan og Sgt J. L. Umscheid i Stalag L7. (Kilde: Lost Bombers)  Se også Tyske krigsfangelejre.

1 flyver fra LAN PA988 blev begravet på Svinø Kirkegård og 2 blev taget til fange, men det lykkedes 4 flyvere at nå Sverige. Mere ved hver enkelt flyver. 7 flyvere.

On 17 August 1944 at 01.45 hours LAN PA988 crashed near Allindemagle (here). The plane exploded in the air and was scattered over a large area.
See places in Google Map p344.

(Danish) Aviation Historical Review writes:
"461 Lancasters were to bomb Stettin (Szczecin here) while 348 bombers from the RAF were on minelaying operations in the Baltic Sea. This night the total losses
of the RAF were 9 Lancasters and 6 Halifaxes. Lancaster PA988 was attacked over Sjælland by a German Me410. It was hit and caught fire.
P/O (Mid Upper Gunner) Philip Arthur Musgrave was killed during the attack, but the rest of the crew managed to bail out. Soon 2 airmen were captured by the
Germans, but the remaining 4 airmen managed to contact the resistance movement. After 10-14 days they were together in Sweden."
(FT 88-41-29)

F/O A .B. Durfee was interned in Camp L3 Sagan and Sgt J. L. Umscheid in Camp L7. (Source: Lost Bombers) See also German POW-Camps.

1 airman from
LAN PA988 was buried in Svinø and 2 were captured, but 4 airmen managed to reach Sweden. More at each airman.

See No. 6 Group and the Canadian Squadrons * No. 405 (City of Vancouver) Squadron RCAF * 405 Squadron Association * No. 405 Squadron RAF Pathfinders
See also Lancaster Photos * Lancaster - Bomber Command Museum of Canada * Avro 683 Lancaster Mk X - IWM Duxford Lancaster-WikipediaLAN-HAL

Lancaster III PA988 LQ-P took off from RAF Gransden Lodge at 21.00 hrs on 16 AUG 1944. (Source: Aircrew Remembered has this.) See p344MACR.  7 airmen.