LEST WE FORGET 213 MAINPRIZE, GrahamWilliam(continued) Pilot Sergeant John Alywyn Phillips, Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve (RAFVR), and his crew – Sergeant H. C. McLean, flight engineer (RCAF); Flight Sergeant G.W. Mainprize, navigator (RCAF); Sergeant. V. A. Knight, bomb aimer (RAFVR); Sergeant R. A. Andrews, wireless operator (RAFVR); Sergeant W. H. King, mid-upper gunner (RCAF); and Sergeant L. D. Kohnke, tail gunner (RCAF) – were the last flight of ‘B’ for Baker. They were “wheels-up” from Gransden Lodge at 22:58 hours. THE STORY OF HR871 During the outbound leg to Hamburg, they encountered a thunderstorm around 21,000 feet (6,400 metres). Ice began to accumulate on the Halifax’s control surfaces, making it sluggish and increasingly difficult to control. They would not have stood much of a chance if they had been forced to evade night fighters or flak, and Phillips quickly made the decision to dropping the TIs – target Indicators. Moments later, the forward section of the Halifax was struck by lightning. Both inner engines were knocked out, the radio was useless and several critical instruments stopped functioning. The brilliant flash temporarily blinded Phillips, and he lost control of the lumbering bomber momentarily. With a degree of control and his sight back, Phillips had to weigh the risks of trying to fly his crippled bomber back across the unforgiving North Sea back to England. He made the decision to turn the aircraft in a northerly direction, with the hope of reaching neutral Sweden. Flying at just under 4,000 feet (1,219 metres) above the Baltic Sea, they made visual contact with a lighthouse and lights from a number of dwellings at Falsterbo. The aircraft passed Ringsjön and Vombsjön. Phillips changed course to a southwesterly heading, which would take the aircraft back out over the Baltic Sea. He trimmed the controls, and then gave the command to bail out. They were in close proximity to Flyinge, Sweden’s largest and best-known horse breeding station. One by one, the crew members fell into the dark sky. The crew survived and returned to the UK after being interned for six months. WHERE IS HALIFAX HR871 NOW? The bomber continued flying until it crashed into the Baltic Sea fifteen kilometres off the Swedish coast and sank into twenty metres of brackish (slightly salty) water. Since that time it has been inundated and covered by sand although three engines and small portions of the aircraft remain above the sand on the seafloor. HALIFAX PROJECTUpdate - August 21, 2021 I am finally reporting to you after just stepping out of the Swedish whirlwind of the past 4 weeks when we prepared, launched, campaigned, and completed our historic first recovery operations to save all we can of combat bomber RCAF Halifax HR871, resting for 78 years in the Baltic Sea. The crew with two Swedish chaperones The crew of the HR281 including Flight Sergeant Mainprize (kneeling)
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