The information on this Officer was supplied by Alexander Bone, Nephew of flying Officer Bone.

Many thanks to Alex for supplying these pictures and documents. Flying Officer Alexander V Bone Pilot

of Avro Lancaster ED 427 EA-O - Oboe and Crew were lost on their Second operation with

49 Sqn to the Skoda armaments Factory at Pilsen on the evening of 16/17 April 1943.

a force of 327 Lancasters and Halifax Bombers took part in this operation.

18 Lancaster and 18 Halifax Bombers failed to return .The crews Lancaster was never found,

the assumption was that the Lancaster went down in the North Sea due to battle damage or was shot down by German night fighter.

The crew are remembered on the Runnymede memorial. Recently the crash site of a Lancaster was found in Germany.

The lancaster was found and identified by Herr Uwe Benkel. Consideration is being given to recover this aircraft.

Flying Officer Bones crew were

Sgt R.N.P. Foster F/E (Missing)
Sgt C.W. Yelland NAV (Missing)
Sgt R.C. White WAG (Missing)
Sgt R. Cope A/G (Missing)
Sgt R.J. Rooney B/A (Missing)
P/O B.E. Watt RCAF A/G (Missing)

Many Thanks to 49 Sqn for allowing use of their records

Top left: Colin Bone RAF (deceased) - I believe flying at the outbreak of war to the end, hence my father's comment on photo 'Lucky to survive' (sorry no details at present of war service but his widow, my Aunt Dawn is still with us.)
Top centre:  Enid Bone (deceased) - nursing at Guys Hospital during war.
Top right:  Alex as discussed.
Bottom left:  Donald Bone my father (deceased 1990) - ground crew, air-frame fitter, 36 Wing Detling (and elsewhere).
Bottom centre: Arthur Bone as per Fiskerton website. Living in Manthorpe, Lincs.
Bottom right:  Roger Bone (deceased) - father wrote 'African artillery', not quite sure what that meant. He and his wife now deceased.

Uncle Arthur in  RAF Uniform.

His duties involve flying anti submarine patrols with Coastal Command.

After the initial telegram sent by the Air Ministry informing the Family that Flying Officer Bone had failed to return from operations,  a confirmation Letter informing Mrs Bone of the loss of her son was sent some weeks later. Before this letter was sent out a check with the Red Cross Organisation in Sweden would have been made to find out if the missing airman was held as a prisoner of war by the German authorities. 

24/9/12.

Further to the above. Finally after sixty-nine years, work has begun to recover this Lancaster and crew from the crash site.

A privately organised dig was undertook with the permission of one of the two landowners who farm the crash site.

Two bodies  were recovered at the time of the crash-but remain unidentified. The remaining bodies are still in the wreckage. The recovery team were led to the crash site by a local man who witnessed the actual crash.

FRTHER DETAILS AND COVERAGE OF THE RECOVERY CAN BE FOUND ON THE WEBSITES OF THE FOLLOWING NEWSPAPERS: Daily Express, The Times, Daily Mirror & The Telegraph or by a general search-engine search.

IMAGES OF THE RECOVERY BELOW SUPPLIED BY DOMINIC HOWARD-49 SQN ASSOCIATION.