PHOTO_RAFMindestenen_LancasterNedstyrtningssted

On the night of German leader Adolf Hitler's birthday, 21 April 1943, the Allies bombed German targets in Stettin and Rostock. On the way there, the planes passed through Danish airspace, and in addition to guns and anti-aircraft guns, the Germans had their Messerschmidt fighters in the air. The Germans managed to shoot down at least 17 of the Allied aircraft and 40 airmen were killed. A Canadian Halifax HR 714 crashed near Mandø, killing three of the seven crew members, and a Lancaster III ED 614 crashed near Vester Vedsted, killing all seven crew members. The Lancaster first lost the tail section and then plummeted towards Råhede, where the aircraft exploded. Six crew members were killed on the spot, while P. J. Cramer died a few hours later at Ribe Hospital. They had tried to parachute out, but did not make it. On 30 April 1943, 37 of the 40 dead were buried in the cemetery in Fovrfeld Prufrock. A German chaplain attended the funeral, and both the German Wehrmacht and Esbjerg City Council laid wreaths. At Sprækvej, in 2012, residents unveiled a memorial stone for the seven Lancaster fatalities. They were: Pilot P/O George M. Pettigrew; Flight Engineer Sergeant James Cooper, Flight Sergeant Patrick J. Cramer, Air Gunner Sergeant Arthur Daley, Air Gunner Sergeant Raymond G. Elkins, Bomb Aimer Sergeant Archibald I. Mackay and Observer Sergeant Walter D. Ramsay. On 4 May each year, a memorial service is held at the stone.