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LANCASTER LM658

On the evening of Saturday August 12th 1944 an Avro Lancaster (serial number LM658) took off from its base at RAF Waltham near Grimsby, Lincolnshire in Eastern England bearing the squadron code HW-W of RAF 100 Squadron, Bomber Command (1 group) as part of an airborne offensive of 379 heavy bombers heading for heart of the Nazi Reich. However, as dawn broke on Sunday morning only six of the seven 100 Squadron Lancs that took off the previous evening were to return to Waltham, LM658 and her crew were posted as missing.

This site tells the tale of that fateful night and the story of the fate befalling P/O Gerald Hood.

Home page - Make this your starting point

Crew List - The crew of LM658

Flt/Lt Harold (Bill) Paston-Williams of Dorking, Surrey. [biog]

Flt/ Lt Christopher Holland of Horsham Sussex. [biog]

Flt/Sgt John Downie of Kilmarnock, Ayrshire. [biog]

Hood Memorial Day

Photo Gallery

The Hood Story - the fate of P/O Gerald Hood

LM658 - Details of Lancaster LM658

LM585 - Lancaster LM585

ME732 - Lancaster ME732 of 61 Squadron

Raid - Details of the raid in which LM658 was lost.

How it all started - How a Sunday afternoon stroll in the Dutch village of Zenderen turned into a quest to find the truth of a 60 year old mission.

A Fitting Conclusion

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Links - other sites of interest