Lancaster loses two engines on take-off - ww2

 Just before 17.25hrs on the evening of 3rd November 1943 Lancaster W4833 of 625 Squadron  lined up for take-off on a sortie to Dusseldorf. The crew were setting out on their second operation together, their first had been to Kassel on the 22nd October when they had had a close call with an enemy night-fighter. Rear gunner Frank Sutton's log book recorded – 'ops Kassel. Expended 150 rounds. Damaged Fw190 in combat (1 attack).'

Pilot F/Sgt Reg Price had previously flown as 'second-dickie' with P/O Edgar Pickles and crew on 20th October op to Berlin (and on the same night M/u Harry Powter had filled in for the absent F/Sgt Bill Allan in Jimmie Ives's crew on their abortive sortie). The other members of Price's crew were f/e Les Knowles, navigator Dudley Ball, b/a Jack Conley and w/op Jim Harris. Their bomb-load on this occasion included a 4,000lb 'cookie' fused to explode on impact and 12 SBCs (small bomb containers), canisters containing 2,800 incendiaries. Fuel-load for Dusseldorf and back was 1200 gallons. Take-off was renowned to be potentially the most 'dicey' part of any flight.

Sgt Sutton's log-book records the following entry 'inner engines u/s (Dusseldorf)' – for the trip which turned out to be short and eventful. Many thanks to Iain Sutton for allowing me to reproduce his father's account of what happened. I defy anyone not to be gripped by the following narrative, written soon after returning to base:-

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