35/Lane Crew: Crew photo
Name/Title
35/Lane Crew: Crew photoEntry/Object ID
2023.1201Description
Lane crew, 35 Squadron. (2 images)Photograph Details
Type of Photograph
DigitalContext
These are the members of the Lane crew who were shot down on the night of 21/22 June on a Krefeld operation. Some members of the crew were on their 43rd operation, with only two more to go to finish their tour. This was a disastrous night for 35 Squadron, which lost five crews. A sixth crew, that of Sergeant Milne, ditched 30 miles off Cromer and all were incredibly fortunate to survive. The Lane crew were also blessed with great good fortune in that they too all survived. They came down by parachute around Wamel, in the province of Gelderland, the Netherlands. Peter Balson was the only one who suffered a serious injury, breaking his ankle when he landed. He was treated by a local Dutch doctor and thereafter was removed to Wamel where he met a cheering Dutch crowd and was given an excellent breakfast. He would spend the rest of the war as prisoner, as did all his crewmates. Crew line-up on photographs: L-R: – George Darling (bomb aimer); Tom Lane (pilot), RCAF; Don Alexander (rear gunner); Peter Jackson (navigator); Roy Macdonald (m/u gunner); Peter Balson (wireless operator), RAAF; Jim Rogers, flight engineer. The second image has their signatures upon it, a little smudged. First image courtesy of John Balson. Second image from the Pathfinder Collection.Collection
35 Squadron, YY: RPA DIGITAL ITEMS, YY: THE PATHFINDER COLLECTION, RAF WYTONCategory
QAI: Personal photographs