W4771
Crashes > of the R.A.F.
The Lancaster W4771 was returning from the bombing raid on Cologne when it came into the range of several anti-aircraft batteries near Mönchengladbach.*
It was hit by several batteries and caught fire, whereupon the pilot gave the order to bail out. Four crew members managed to parachute out, landed on the ground, some of them injured, and became German prisoners of war.
The aircraft crashed near Birgen, a small town near Waldniel. Three crew members could only be recovered dead from the wreckage and were buried in Mönchengladbach's Central Cemetery.
Additional information:
*According to available anti-aircraft documents, the aircraft was shot at by four different anti-aircraft batteries at 21:50 and brought down.
Theo Boiten (Nachtjagd Combat Archiv 1942/ Band 3) attributes the crash to Obl. Reinhold Knacke 1./NJG 1, but there are no documents from the OKL/RLM for this.
Above:
The crash site of W4771 near Birgen
Top left:
Extract from the flak diary of 15 October 1942 with the recorded firing of the Lancaster at 21:50 hours
bottom left:
Letter from Lauftgaukommando VI recognising the firing of several batteries