80th Anniversary – Lane Crew
On June 20, 2023 by RAF Pathfinders Archive80 years ago, on the operation against Krefeld of 20/21 June 1943, 35 Squadron had a disastrous night, losing four crews in mainland Europe and one at sea. A sixth crew, that of Sergeant Milne, ditched 30 miles off Cromer on the Norfolk coast, 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.
All the crew became prisoners of war.
The crew, as seen in the photograph below, with smudgy signatures, are:
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.
First image courtesy of John Balson; second image from the Pathfinder Collection.
You can see the RAF Pathfinders Archive catalogue entries for the Lane crew at Archive Catalogue.
