Informal portrait of the crew of a Lancaster bomber of 467 Squadron RAAF prior to a night ...

Informal portrait of the crew of a Lancaster bomber of 467 Squadron RAAF prior to a night mission. Identified, left to right: 1352851 Sergeant (Sgt) Eric Reginald Hill, RAF, mid upper gunner of Weald, Essex; 423311 Flight Sergeant (Flt Sgt) Gilbert Firth Pate, RAAF, rear gunner of Belmore, NSW; 1350279 Sgt Kenneth Harold Tabor, RAF, flight engineer; 425413 Flt Sgt Alistair Dale Johnston, RAAF, wireless operator, of Melbourne, Vic; 400495 Squadron Leader (Sqn Ldr) Donald Philip Smeed Smith, DFC, RAAF, pilot of Melbourne, Vic; 412686 Warrant Officer Royston William Purcell, RAAF, navigator of Werris Creek NSW; 658844 Flt Sgt Jeremiah Parker, RAF, bomb aimer of England. The aircraft pictured is most likely the Lancaster Mark III bomber LM475 (PO-B). This was the usual aircraft flown by the crew listed above which crashed whilst on a mission over Lille, France, on 10 May 1944, of which only the pilot, Sqn Ldr Smith survived. Two weeks prior to this mission, bomber pilots were authorised to wear seat-type parachutes instead of the standard backpack that was stored in the plane and only hooked in case of need. This most likely saved Sqn Ldr Smith's life; on landing by parachute he made his way cross-country through France and Switzerland, and back to England several months later.