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Lawrence H. Lancashire

Co-Pilot · 409th Squadron

2nd Lt. Lawrence H. Lancashire (O-735404) served as co-pilot on the 409th Bomb Squadron, 93rd Bomb Group aircraft during the August 1, 1943 Ploesti mission.

Lancashire was taken as a prisoner of war in Romania following the mission and held as an internee. He was released along with other interned crew members when Romania changed sides in 1944. His serial number O-735404 appears in the 15th Air Force repatriation orders of September 3, 1944, listing him as part of the 93rd Bomb Group. He returned to the UK with Thompson.

Completed Tour

Sortie Log

2 CATALOGUED SORTIES
01 AUG 1943 — 01 AUG 1943

The sorties below are those we have been able to document for this airman, drawn from flight logs, mission records, and archival sources. It is not necessarily a complete account of every mission flown; gaps may reflect missing documentation, transferred assignments, or records lost to time.

8AF Mission
Date
Target
Aircraft
№ 115
01 AUG 1943
Ploesti
The aircraft was lost on August 1, 1943 during the low-level Ploesti mission (Operation Tidal Wave), approximately 10 miles southwest of the target at around 1515 hours. Two engines were shot out and a third was hit, with the tail section badly damaged. The pilot crash-landed the aircraft rather than ordering a bail-out. None of the crew used parachutes. The plane did not explode on impact but was totally wrecked. Seven of the ten crew members were injured in the crash. Navigator 2nd Lt. Thompson reported seeing all crew members after reaching the ground. The crew was subsequently taken into Romanian custody and held as internees before being repatriated to Allied control in September 1944.
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№ 115
01 AUG 1943
Ploesti Oil Refineries
The aircraft was on its second mission when it was struck by heavy anti-aircraft fire and ground machine gun fire approximately eight miles past the target at Ploesti, Romania. The plane crashed at approximately 3:00 PM on August 1, 1943. No crew members bailed out; the entire crew crashed with the plane. The aircraft did not explode on striking the ground. Several enlisted men and two officers were wounded before the crash. Following the crash, all crew members were eventually accounted for and freed except for the bombardier, 1st Lt. J. Little, who was buried at Senia (Sinaia), Romania.
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