Subscribe now for full access and no adverts
The remains of three British airmen who went missing during the Second World War have been identified more than 80 years after they disappeared.
Arthur Smart, Raymond Moore, and Charles Sprack were on board a Lancaster bomber when it was shot down over Dutch waters on a return flight from Germany in the summer of 1943.
The aircraft fell from the skies above Lake IJsselmeer, an inland bay in the north of the country near Amsterdam, in the early hours of 13 June that year, following a raid on the city of Bochum in the Ruhr region.
While the bodies of four of the seven crew members were washed up on Dutch shores and subsequently buried, Smart, Moore, and Sprack were registered as missing in action.
Their identities were confirmed after two silver-plated cigarette cases, bearing the initials of 27-year-old flight engineer Smart and 21-year-old wireless operator Moore, were found alongside human remains during a recent recovery operation sponsored by the Dutch government.
The remains of kite equipment and clothing were also found during the search. The Dutch Ministry of Defence said the personal effects will be returned to the crew’s families.
The crash site was first discovered in 1996 by local fishermen, who hauled up a motor and reported their find to the Stichting Aircraft Recovery Group, based in Heemskerk, north of Amsterdam.
‘It is amazing that the cigarette cases of Smart and Moore were found,’ said Johan Graas of the Recovery Group, which helped with the investigations, adding that the men’s families would be relieved.
‘The goal of our foundation is to give men like them an official grave, men who gave their lives for our freedom. Alas, it has taken many years,’ Graas added.
Approximately 5,500 aircraft were lost over the Netherlands during the Second World War. Around 30 to 50 crash sites in the country are still thought to contain remains of crew members.
You must be logged in to post a comment.