207 Sqn RAF Association - Small items from the crash site of Lancaster EM-M LL973

207 Squadron Royal Air Force Association
Items from the Solly Crew Crash Site, Lancaster EM-M LL973
22 June 1944, near Dorne
Province of Limburg, Belgium

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The following Lancaster wreckage items are among those which have been gathered from walking the crash site field, which is between Dorne and Niel-bij-As, after crops have been cut and with the permission of the farmer. They are part of the continual harvest of ammunition, metal parts and perspex that the soil produces as a result of cultivation and ploughing. The same is true of many other crash sites. Items which have any kind of writing on them, especially serial numbers, are of great interest as it is possible that these can be identified by those with working knowledge of the construction and servicing of the Avro Lancaster.

According to The Lancaster File, compiled by JJ Halley (Air Britain, 1985) this aircraft was one of a batch of 350 Lancaster Is delivered between November 1943 and August 1944 by Armstrong Whitworth. It arrived on No.207 Squadron at RAF Spilsby on 11th May 1944 and by the time it was lost on its 16th operational sortie (P/O CJ Solly, Wesseling) on 22nd June 1944, it had logged 81.35 flying hours.

Pilot Officer Charles John "Mike" Solly RAFVR, Pilot, age 22
Flight Sergeant John Shaw RAFVR, Navigator, age 22
Sgt Edwin Jack "Jacky" Jewell RAFVR, Mid Upper Gunner, age 23

The Bomb Aimer Sgt Eddie Chapman and Rear Gunner Sgt Peter Loakes were taken PoW. The Flight Engineer Sgt Arthur Barton and the Wireless Operator Sgt Frank R Haslam both evaded.

Especial thanks are given to Danny Vanstraelen-Reumers, Friend Member of 207 Squadron RAF Association and grandson of Gerard and Helena Delsaer, the couple who hid the Solly crew's Wireless Operator Sgt Frank R Haslam for 13 weeks. Many of the items below were donated to the editor by Danny, to supplement those the Haslam family have collected on visits to the crash site. The .303 round and item 12 were found by the owner of the field.
Raymond Glynne-Owen provided information about the aircraft's service on 207 Sqn.

If you are able to identify any of these items please contact the editor, Frank W Haslam


	item 1: three views serial: 1 SS518 with a possible further digit 6 other marks: figure 1 inside a partially obliterated ellipse? the white deposits are the result of fire damage dimensions: in image at left, width 35mm (1.4"); joining rod diameter about 7mm (2/10"-3/10")
	item 2, both sides of which are shown, painted in different colours: brown/thin black/bare metal in upper view, all black in lower view serials: none dimensions: the bare metal/thin black part approx 14mm (half an inch), the brown part about 17mm (7/10")

	item 3: two views and detailed view below upper view shows a manufacturer's mark and a serial (???I?)MD 1628 dimensions: centres of the two holes are 1cm apart (4/10") the wedge shaped piece is 8mm (half inch) wide and 35mm (14/10") long
	item 4 it has been suggested that this might be a buckle from some kind of equipment harness, rather than from something worn by aircrew. serials: none dimensions: top width 44mm (1¾"), bottom width 54mm (just over 2"): internal width 25mm (1")

	item 5 perspex serial visible: X 94829 AB dimensions: 4mm thick (between 1/10" and 2/10")
	item 6 perspex, fire damaged shows figures in white 230 against what appears to be a scale gradation mark dimensions: about 2mm thick (just under 1/10")
	item 7 perspex, fire damaged shows figures in white 18 against what appear to be scale gradations
	item 8 bent thin black painted metal strip, with two fixing holes approx 25mm (1") apart faint lettering residue visible but hard to make out top line: AILERON bottom line: BLAR??? dimensions: 12-13mm (half inch) wide

item 9, two views hard plastic type material marks: on image above note the word fragment IZER serials: none dimensions: see right - height about 25mm (1")
	item 10 metal markings: serial 1?5S3202 and below that, within a circle, possibly PT or PI 506 dimensions: fixing centres are 20mm (¾") apart, the item is slightly tapered down to 25mm (1") across and is about 2mm (1/10") thick

item 11

view above shows brown and black painted strip of metal
with two corroded attachment points (appear to be nut and bolt).

the left hand attachment point has a fragment of perspex fixed to the metal
(see close up on right), suggesting that this could have come from somewhere
such as a turret or window.
dimensions: 3cm (1.1") wide; spacing of attachment points 8cm (3"),
thickness of perspex fragment 4mm approx (between 1/10" and 2/10")


item 12 presented to the Haslam family by the owner of the field markings: serial A 1(3?)1269 plus in an ellipse F or E 643 dimensions: thickness 4-5mm (15/100"), top to bottom max 43mm (17/10"), width 75mm (29/10"): large holes 12-13mm (half inch) dia, middle size hole 8-9mm (4/10") dia, small holes 6mm (¼") dia.	the reverse side shows what looks like rotational wear in the two upper apertures on the right

item 13 two views appears to be a bakelite control knob markings: the image on the right shows 71S70 dimensions: the knurls on the knob are separated by approx 20mm (7-8/10")
	item 14 thin (1-2 mm) flexible plastic type material, some fire damage markings: the capital letters ELE can be seen

item 15

it is suggested that this may be an oil pipe, indicated by the fluted end for an olive.

markings: none
dimensions: tube external diameter 10mm (4/10"), width of flute about 12mm (45/100")

a .303 round seen in Belgium,
found by the owner of the field

cap markings (see left) are difficult to make out
possibly top RO 1942, bottom WD