Beverweg 8, Swifterbant

 

On September 28, 1942, six British Vickers Wellington bombers carried out a daring daylight attack on ships in the Dortmund-Ems Canal near Lingen. It was not successful and one of the aircraft was shot down. Wellington Z1663 of 115 Squadron, a twin-engine bomber, was shot down at 18:02 by a German Focke Wulf Fw 190 fighter, flown by Unteroffizier Kurt Knespel of the 10. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 1. The aircraft crashed into the IJsselmeer at this location.

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Crew

• Pilot: Robert James Sealer Parsons, Squadron Leader, age 22

• Observer: William Leonard Clough, Flight Sergeant, age 31

• Bombardier: John Mitchell Gilmour, Sergeant, age 28

• Radio operator/gunner: John Austin Parker, Flight Sergeant, age 21

• Tail Gunner: John James Stansall, Sergeant, age 19

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Parsons and Parker were killed in action and are buried at the Nieuwe Oosterbegraafplaats in Amsterdam. Clough is still missing and his name is on the Commonwealth Air Forces Missing Memorial in Runnymede, England. Gilmour and Stansall were taken prisoner.