| Accession Number | MEA1593 |
|---|---|
| Collection type | Photograph |
| Object type | Negative |
| Maker |
Le Guay, Laurence Craddock |
| Date made | May 1944 |
| Conflict |
Second World War, 1939-1945 |
| Copyright |
Item copyright: Copyright expired - public domain
|
Near Poretta, Corsica, France. May 1944. The shattered remains of a giant Avro Lancaster bomber ...
Description
Near Poretta, Corsica, France. May 1944. The shattered remains of a giant Avro Lancaster bomber aircraft which, with two engines shot up over Munich, crossed the Alps, Italy and the Mediterranean on the other two engines to land on a Mediterranean island. The pilot was a RAAF airman, 414828 Flight Sergeant (Flt Sgt) L. N. Rackley of Cooparoo, Qld.
This particular aircraft, Lancaster ME717, coded LE-E, was part of 630 Squadron RAF. It took off from RAF East Kirkby, Lincolnshire, at 8.51pm to bomb Munich. Upon crash landing at 5.25am at Borgo airfield, Corsica, the aircraft's tail hit a parked aircraft killing 424162 Sergeant Maxwell Dunbar the rear gunner. The rest of the crew were uninjured. Dunbar was from Dubbo, New South Wales and he is buried in the Biguglia War Cemetery, Island of Corsica, France. An image of Maxwell is in the AWM collection, item number P10256.001.