An aviation enthusiast has finally identified the crash site of an RAF Lancaster bomber that went down in northeastern France 80 years ago, killing all seven crew members. The wreckage of Lancaster NG176 was discovered in woodland near the village of Mattexey by Benoit Howson, a 46-year-old English teacher, after years of research.
The bomber was returning from a mission to bomb a Bosch factory in Stuttgart, Germany, on October 19, 1944, when it crashed. Among the dead was navigator Sergeant William Raine, the great-uncle of Daily Mail journalist Kate Pickles, who visited the site to mark the 80th anniversary.
Howson found remnants including pieces of fuselage, plexiglass, parachute fabric, and .303 Browning machine gun bullets, one of which was an unfired armour-piercing round made in 1944 at the Royal Ordnance factory in Spennymoor, County Durham. The discovery confirms the location, which had previously been misreported.
The crew were initially buried in Lunéville before being moved to Choloy War Cemetery in 1947. Howson, whose interest in military history stems from his French-American heritage, has spent over a decade commemorating fallen soldiers in France and the UK.
