Lancaster PB265 FOUND !!!

Hi folks
at long last I have located the wreckage of my grandfather's crashed Lancaster Bomber. PB265 UL-V2. The 'Old Wings Association' in Paris located and excavated the crash site in 1989. The have used the recovered usable parts in Lancaster WU21 (NX664) which they are reconstructing. I have six pieces of the wreckage already,but this is amazing news. Over the years museum items from the crash have been displayed locally in the Museum Airborne of Ste Mére l'Eglise.
Im planning to visit the crash site in Carquebut soon to dedicate a plaque to the pilot F/O RJ SARVIS USAAF, who died in the crash. Then on to Paris to see the remains of Sgt weir's plane. Heres a photo of the restoration.
I also intend to bring back some of the wreckage to be displayed at his old base at Elsham Wolds, where 576 Squadron have a museum.
What a week!!

 

Amazing, and great work, I think he would feel so honoured for the amount of work and effort you have put into this.

 

good snooping simon,and paid off too,well done,ray..

I see you found the mag for sale on ebay..

 

Cheers Ray. yip, a French pal found it on French Ebay. He has bought it for me and ordered the original report in the La Presse De Manche newspaper. Can't wait to see them. Really strange timing, both magazine and pieces of the wreckage popping up on ebay after all these years, just when im looking for the very plane! just waiting to hear from THE OLD WINGS ASSOCIATION in Paris. The chap who excavated the site emailed me directly last night. Nearly wept when I read it..!

 

Excellent news Simon, this is beyond expectation

 

Great work Simon, hopefully you will post some pics of the wreckage. Will you be posting the history of your grandfather war time service? Again great job.

 

persistance pays sometimes Simon, good for you this will help on your journey to set your Grandfathers career and personal items in order. What a great tribute to a brave "young" man

congrats and keep at it, applaud you for for your continueaity and that is an Erichism

 

just been sent these amazing photos from the excavation in 1989

 

Thanks guys. Lou, check out http://www.ww2f.com/military-servic...earch/36145-sgt-jm-weir-576-squadron-raf.html

for the story so far on my grandfather Sgt JM WEIR and the SARVIS CREW on Lanc PB265

 

Just received this from France, 3945 Magazine article on PB265 and excavation photos. Am awaiting list of finds. Cant wait!!

"
34/45 MAGAZINE n°58 Le dernier vol du Lancaster PB265 (pp. 4-9) translation

THE LAST FLIGHT


OF THE LANCASTER PB 265​

By Gérard Renault (translation Germain Julien)
Great-Britain, on the 24th of July 1944, night has just fallen. In Elsham Woods, on the base of the 576 Squadron, the Lancaster crews have been given the order, for the third consecutive night, to bomb the German city of Stuttgart. As the others, the crew of the Lancaster registered as “UL-V2” on his cabin, serial number: PB 265, doesn’t know yet the flight won’t be back from this new mission.
The airbase of the RAF in Elsham Woods has been created in July 1941. She first was the base for the 103rd Squadron equipped with Wellington bombers and then endowed with Lancaster in 1942. The 576 BS has been formed in November 1943.
Let’s now turn our attention to the Lancaster registered as “UL-V2” and whose serial number is PB 265. The bomber’s crew is:
- Flight Officer Robert Sarvis (ASN), young American pilot from Tennessee originally from the 12th Replacement Depot of the USAAF who has been transferred to the RAF. - Sergeant Alexander Balfour (ASN 1.021.030), mechanic in the RAF. - Sergeant J.M. Weir (ASN 1.560.450), bomber in the RAF. - R.T. Gordon (ASN R 181 524), navigator from the Royal Canadian Air Force, Sergeant J. Coates (ASN 1.622.241) from the RAF. - Sergeant E. Reed (ASN 1.541.804), machine gunner from the RCAF. A crew in command of an American with two Canadians and four British on a British plane!
In this night of Monday the 24th of July 1944, the 576 BS leave the English coast and join up with a unit of 412 Lancaster and 138 Hallifax, and then head toward Stuttgart. Heading south for Orleans and then toward the east until the target. The unit reaches the French coast east of Le Havre, catching sight of the gleam of the fights raging the bridgehead of Normandy where the allied troops trampled on for a few weeks, on the eve of “Cobra”, the great offensive that Americans will launch in a few hours. The unit then reaches the south of the département of Eure-et-Loir. Here, hidden in the shade, a German night fighter is waiting for his prey. He has chosen it. It will be the Lancaster PB 265. The German attacks and hits the bomber. F/O Robert Sarvis then order the evacuation of the plane, Sergeant Alexander Balfour jumps with a parachute from the airplane. But the pilot manages to control the bomber and reconsiders his order of evacuation. He decides to attempt to reach the bridgehead of Normandy. The Lancaster is at 9 500 feet high and head toward Normandy.
But let’s get back to Sergeant Balfour. He was at the front of the airplane, busy throwing Windows (according to a letter from A. Balfour, dated from the 19th of August 1990) when he receives the order of evacuation. He jumps and hits ground in Loiret. He is rescued by Mr. Bernardeau de Saint-Denis-en-Val. He is then directed toward the Resistance in Orgères-en-Beauce (Eure-et-Loir) and then taken in charge by the network of the pharmacist Picourt in Chartres. He is then accommodated at Mr. Laulhée and Mr. Château in Villebon (Eure-et-Loir) until the liberation by the Patton Army on the 16 and 17th of August 1944. Meantime, the Picourt network had collected 51 allies aviators, 17 of them were taken by the German police in July 1944, thanks to information given by a traitor. The network had notably collected Major Bud Mahurin (American pilot of the 56th Fighter Group, shot down on the 27th of March 1944 near Allonnes in Eure-et-Loir), hotshot of the US chase who totalized 21 victories. Bud Mahurin will get back to Great-Britain (mission Pick-Up) thanks to a Lysander during the night of the 6th of June 1944, on a clandestine field near to Outarville in Loiret.
We now come back to the Lancaster that was continuing his route toward Normandy. It reaches Carentan at 8 500 feet high, where, to crown it all, it is attacked by the American DCA of that town. The Lancaster is hit once again, on fire. F/O Sarvis orders the abandon of the flight. Five members of the crew jump and witness the fall and then the explosion of the bomber. Sergeants Gordon, Reed and Clark are injured ; they will be hospitalized by the American Medical Corps in Carentan. But what happened to F/O Sarvis in these first hours of the 25th of July? Did he abandon the bomber after the others? mystery! In December 1944, while all the members of the crew got back to Great-Britain, he is still “missing”. The research undertaken on site of the crash, on the side of the CD 270, in the town of Carquebut, won’t give any results. And yet, thereafter, in the cemetery of Colleville-sur-Mer (Calvados) there will be a grave (Plot B, Row 05, Grave 38) and a cross on which is written: Plt O. Robert, J. Sarvis, Tenn., July 25, 1644, 12 Rept Depot. Normandy, B. 05.38. But what’s in this grave?
Second act
Let’s now jump forward through time, 45 years later, on the 18th of July 1989. We are a team of “researchers”, all fascinated by aviation of the Second World War, and that all come to spend their holidays in Normandy every year. At the instigation of Mr. Tournailles from Clainville, this team goes to the swamp of Carquebut. There is there: Mr. Leprêtre (from Brussels), Pierre and Jean Nekrassoff, Gérard Renault. Armed with shovels and a metal detector, we discover an important amount of unidentified parts of aluminium, from a US, German, English plane? Then these relics show calibre 303 munitions and also a Dunlop flying boot and, macabre discover, a human leg in his boots and a part of trousers. It was a British plane. The excavations carried on until 1,8 meters deep enable to discover an extractor parachute and a white parachute in perfect state of conservation in the swamp, in spite of 45 years. Excavations are really difficult because of the presence of oil, petrol and water. They will be abandoned on the 19th of July after the discovery of an important amount of Windows (aluminium stripes still tied up), each Lancaster would carry about 200 kilograms of these on the European Front during August 1943. The human leg is put back into ground: pictures are taken straight away.
Among the numerous metallic parts discovered: four small aluminium plates with series of numbers on them. On one of them, the figures 683 and PB 265 will give us the key of the enigma. In order to move forward in our investigation, we ask M. B. Eadon Mills, British citizen, campsite neighbour, his contribution, what he accepts with pleasure. Thereafter, he will contact the British Ministry of Defence and the embassy of Great-Britain in France. Back home, we ask the support of the “Ailes Anciennes”, in the person of Messrs. Niclot and Lafosse, of Lucé, aviation specialist. In their documents, we find tracks of the Lancaster P 265, given for shot down in France in July 1945 (date mistaken). Subsequently, Mr. Niclot will obtain the Missing n°9741 from the National Archives in Washington along with a document concerning the Sergeant Balfour. The British embassy, amazed by our discovery, transmits the result of our research to the American embassy. As we didn’t possess the material resources necessary to excavate the site, we ask for the help of the “Ailes Anciennes”. The excavation are undertaken on the 4th and 5th of July 1990 thanks to a mechanical excavator and with the presence of two American members of the US sepulchre of Germany. The excavations, carried on up to six meters deep, enabled the discovery of new parts shown on this page."

 

Great work and persistence, Simon! I love stories like this, when everything finally starts to fall into place.

 

Sorry for being away for so long, but I wanted to have answers before I posted and the news I have for you is really amazing.

This is really a small world.

Firstly : the man who discovered this Lancaster (Mr Pierre) in 1989 happens to be a good friend of me. I talked to him on the phone and he has many details about this aircraft including relics and first hand testimonies.

-He knows the wherabouts of R. j Sarvis's very Parachute and will soon send a picture of it for you.

-He also remembers finding many bags of "windows" and he will soon send me one slice of aluminium for you.

-I confirm that PB265 was shot down by friendly AA over Orleans . I am positive about this. This is a first hand testimony from Robert Gordon RCAF himself (given to Mr Pierre in 1989). The Yung lead is not correct (despite what you read in the 1989 article )

- Now this is the most incredible! Robert Gordon was taken to Orgeres and stayed at Freteval camp .......with Alex Campbell RCAF (Alex is a member of this very forum!)

-I also know a great lady who was a Resistant fighter who took some of these brave airmen to Orgeres.

-the relics of this aircraft have been offered to a Museum so he is a bit surprised some people claim to have parts of it.

-He has many pictures that have never been published yet.

I'll keep in touch.

 

That is amazing Skip, all I can think to say is for such a large world, it is surely a small one.

 

Mr Pierre just sent me an email, he wishes to say that the testimony he got those days was from Sgt Balfour, not Rob Gordon, sorry for the confusion. I don't know whether Sgt Balfour is still alive 21 years later , but we could possibly find his address if we still have it.

 

Skipper. Amazing. Just amazing! Sorry Ive been away doing a film, just got this. Am gobsmacked. Since I started this hunt for PB265 I have been overwhelmed by the generosity of strangers, all as dedicated to helping find out what happened as I am. I look forward to hearing from you and Mr Pierre. I now have the original copy of LA PRESSE DE LA MANCHE (Thursday 5 July 1990) with the reports of the excavation and photos. The jigsaw is beginning to come together.

 

Hi Simon, Mr Pierre has sent me pictures of the relics including one of an unfold parachute in perfect condition. There are also some unpublished pics of the excavation.

 

Wow! What an amazing thread!
Looking forward to reading more!

 

Another confirmation if needed which proves this aircraft was first hit over Orleans where Sgt Balfour bailed out. His landing place in St denis en Val is just south of the Loire River. Besides this is exactly on the route flown by the stream