Page 4 - Alexander V. Bone

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On the evening of the 16/17 April 1943, 327 Main Force heavy bombers went tasked to bomb the
Skoda (Škoda) armaments works at Pilsen (Plzeň) in Western Czechoslovakia. Lancasters from
49 Squadron pressed home their attacks with great determination. Unfortunately the bombing
photographs brought back, showed the raid to have been a failure, with a large asylum building
several miles away being mistaken for the factory. To make matters worse, the cost had been very
high; 18 Halifaxes and 18 Lancaster crews failed to return.
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Flying Officer Alex Bone and crew on just their 2 trip had tragically perished in the night and were
presumed to have come down in the sea.

It is now known that the Lancaster crashed near Laumersheim in the
Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.

Many thanks to 49 Squadron Association and Dominic Howard for helping with this research.

49 Squadron association

Dominic’s website

Lancaster Bombers