A monument on Karsibór at the site of the original burial of the crew of a British Lancaster shot down on 16 April 1945 during the raid on the cruiser “Lützow”.
The RAF Airmen Monument stands on Karsibór in Świnoujście, near the place where on 16 April 1945 a British Lancaster bomber of No. 617 Squadron RAF came down. It commemorates the crew of the aircraft, who were killed during the raid on the German cruiser “Lützow”.
The ship was then moored at the Piast Canal. Two earlier attacks, on 13 and 15 April 1945, failed because of the weather. The third, on 16 April, involved 18 Lancasters, escorted by 33 Mustang fighters of the Polish No. 133 Fighter Wing. The cruiser was heavily damaged and settled on the bottom of the canal.
The Lancaster piloted by Maj. John Powell was hit by anti-aircraft fire, lost a wing and fell into the Karsibór Forest. Six members of the crew were killed: John Powell, Henry Felton, Michael Clarke, Alfred Heath, Kenneth Hewitt and James Watson. The death of the seventh, the air gunner William Knight, was considered probable, but his body was not found. The remains of the airmen were buried at this place the day after the raid.
The exhumation was carried out on 2 March 1949 in the presence of representatives of the British Military Commission. The ashes were taken to Poznań, where they rest in named graves at the Commonwealth war cemetery in the Poznań Citadel. On the site of the former grave stands a monument that originally was topped by the original tail fin of this Lancaster.
Be the first! Add a comment.
You need to log in to add a comment.
Log in