Skywriters

摘要

I was inspired by the recent article about the Lancaster documentary (Aeroplane September 2021) to send information about another, very personal casualty of the air war over Germany in World War Two. My uncle, Plt Off Peter Hanson, RAAF 415528 was shot down and killed aged 23 as pilot of Lancaster Ⅲ JA973 of No 463 (RAAF) Squadron on the night of 30 January 1944, probably by a Bf 110 night fighter. The aircraft may have crashed into the Grosser Zechliner See near Repente north of Berlin, but there were two Lancaster crashes in the same area about the same time, so there is some uncertainty. Six crewmen were killed in the crash, but only three bodies were recovered. One other crewman, the flight engineer, was able to bail out and became a PoW. Five members of the crew were members of the RAF Volunteer Reserve. Peter's remains lie in the Berlin 1939-45 War Cemetery in Charlottenburg, with those of the mid-upper and rear gunners. No 463 Squadron at that time was based at Waddington, Lincolnshire. JA973 had taken off for Berlin at 17.24hrs on 30 January 1944, with a load of one 4,0001b and four 1,2001b bombs, and incendiaries. From various sources, there were 1,217 aircrew posted to No 463 Squadron, with 394 killed in action and 78 aircraft lost.