Layne's Lancaster

This depicts the shooting down of Lancaster JA708, OF-P of 97 Squadron RAF in Germany on the night of 23 September 1943. A commission by David Layne whose father, the late Walter Henry 'Wally' Layne DFC, was the aircraft's Wireless Operator that night.

When the Lancaster was on its bomb run in the north of Mannheim it was coned by searchlights. As soon as he could the pilot put the big aircraft into a violent evasive spiral. The searchlights switched off them but that was the cue for a stalking night fighter - most probably a Messerschmitt Bf110 piloted by Unteroffizier Josef Brunner of 2./NJG1 based in Venlo in the Netherlands.

The mid-upper and rear gunners were killed in their turrets. The navigator's body was found miles from the crash site and he may have died bailing out. The other four bailed out successfully. Wally Layne was last to leave: he managed to jump moments before the aircraft crashed and no sooner had his parachute opened than he was on the ground. He was on the run for 10 days before being captured near Nancy in France, and spent the rest of the war in various PoW camps.

David has compiled a terrific blog about his father's war service: 'Wally's War', which you can find at wallyswar.wordpress.com.