I'm trying to help the relatives of the rear gunner (Sgt Doug Milliken RCAF) with some research into the loss of this aircraft. On searching for aircraft lost on 4th December 1943, there were 68 bombers. A staggering 470 plus aircrew, just in these aircraft alone. Of these, only 2 remain unaccounted for either by night fighters or flak. One is a Lancaster and one is HR732. Usually this indicates a crash into the North Sea.

In the case of HR732, however, the widow (Constance) of P/O Arthur Jack Salvage had his wedding ring returned to her some 3 years after the war ended, so the assumption is that the wreck was on land, probably in Germany as if it had been in France, Belgium or Holland it is likely that the local populace would have reported it.

One of the crew of HR782 from the same Squadron reported seeing a bomber hit twice by flak and explode. HR782 hadn't reached Belgium when it was also shot down by flak.

The mid air explosion could explain why none of the crew or the aircraft wreckage was identified. If it came down in pieces, there may not have been parts carrying identity codes or serials, or the crew being found separate from any wreck may not have been identified as part of a entire crew. It may have crashed into the Leipzig target area and have been destroyed by subsequent bombs, or the bombload exploded when the fuselage crashed. However we simply don't know where or when HR732 was lost, just that no night fighter claim seems to correspond and that another 51 Sqdn aircraft saw an aircraft at the same height nearby be shot down. Lancasters tended to fly several thousand feet higher, and as HR782 and HR732 took off only a few minutes apart, it could be HR732 that the other aircraft saw.

My calculated guess is that the aircraft was lost near Leipzig, where the bombers were starting their bombing run and therefore presented a steady target for flak

Doug Milliken was a twin and his brother has recently died (also RCAF) and the family are hoping that they may locate the graves of the crew who no doubt at present are in "Unknown" graves. The fact that the wedding ring got back to Mrs Salvage means that there must have been sufficient other personal effects to identify the pilot as the ring only had his initials and their wedding date. Somewhere after the crash any personal effects disappeared.

Thanking you in advance, with your help it may be possible to establish where the remains of this crew are and give the family (who have also been in touch with relatives of 5 other crew members) a known resting place for their loved ones. They have already contacted the 51 Squadron historians, PPRuNe and other aviation websites.

The indications are that there may be German archives, newspaper reports, Red Cross or aircraft/aircrew recovery units that might hold the key to where the crew are now buried.

As an interesting related issue, our research has led us to the wreckage of a Ju88 also lost that same night after being hit by defensive fire from 2 bombers that it attacked. Although the 2 crew successfully baled out, the wreckage was not discovered until 2003. As with Mrs Salvage, the widow of Oberleutnant Hiendlmayr was still alive when the wreckage and her husband were found. Maybe there will be some similar comfort for Mrs Salvage to finally find out more of the events of that night.

If a large German aircraft wasn't found until 2003, then the possibility was that IF HR732 exploded in mid air there wouldn't have been identifiable wreckage to associate with scattered pieces and may have been assumed just to have been part of another already identified wreck. The crew may also have been separated, so if the Germans counted say 20 wrecks and had 147 aircrew, they may not have thought there were 21 bombers, but that 7 had an extra crew member and therefore not assembled various pieces to make up the missing aircraft.

I apologise for the lengthy explanation, but if possible I would like to ask your members for any assistance with archive records that they may be able to provide. where would aircrew have been buried initially? It may be that the identification was made at the time, but the paper trail was lost subsequently.

I hope that with your help we may finally trace the crew so that they may be accorded to dignity of their identity, even after so long.

Thanking you in advance!