460 Squadron RAAF - Crash of either W4988 or EE132 in Benschop, Holland on 3/4 September 1943

460 SQUADRON RAAF
CRASH OF EITHER W4988 OR EE132?
IN BENSCHOP, HOLLAND
ON 3/4 SEPTEMBER 1943

visits since 9 October 2001

The following writeup is from the 460 Squadron (RAAF) Association Newsletter of February 2001:-

On 5 May 2000 a memorial was unveiled in Benschop, Holland by the town's Mayor to commemorate the crash there on 3 September 1943 of a 460 Lancaster, shot down with a full bomb load. In the local press, it was reported that the pilot, R.B. McPhan, and four other crew perished on this, their 11th op. Two bailed out in the short time available before the crash. One was Scot, Ian Hilton, and the other an Australian, Bert Stobart. Bert and family members of those killed have visited the site and expressed their appreciation of the town's action.

The following are the details of 2 Lancasters from 460 Squadron RAAF that were lost during the operation to Berlin.

DATE	LANCASTER	PILOT & CREW	OPERATION/LOCATION
4 Sep 1943	W4988 (AR-Q)	Randall F.A. or McPhan R.B.	Crashed in Sweden (looks like this should have read Holland) (Berlin)
4 Sep 1943	EE132	Randall F.A. or McPhan R.B.	Berlin

The following information is from John Watson's "460 SQUADRON (RAAF) - PILOTS AND CREWS" index. It shows the various crews that flew with R.B. McPhan.

M26 Mc Phan R B + 3/9/43 5 KIA/ 2 POWs                               11 0ps
26/8/43 Returned safely after collision over target.
---------------
(E) Wood D W       Mc Culloch T O  Mc Culloch T O +
(B) Spence J A     Spence J A      Spence J A     +
(N) Simpson M J    Simpson M J     Simpson M J    +
(W) Freeman R L    Freeman R L     Freeman R L    +
(G) Hilton J B     Brookes E H     Hilton J B     P
(G) Stobart A A    Stobart A A     Stobart A A    P
           2                1                8

The following is from the Commonwealth War Graves home page:-

In Memory of

ROBERT BARR McPHAN

Flight Sergeant 413788
Royal Australian Air Force
who died on Friday, 3rd September 1943. Age 30.

Son of William Callen McPhan and Martha McPhan, of Kanwal, New South Wales, Australia.

Cemetery: AMERSFOORT (OLD LEUSDEN) GENERAL CEMETERY, Utrecht, Netherlands
Grave Reference/Panel Number: Plot 13. Row 8. Grave 169.

Location: Amersfoort is a town 50 kilometres south-east of Amsterdam. The cemetery is about 2.5 kilometres from the railway station in a road called Dodeweg West, in an area called Oud Leusden.

In Memory of

THOMAS OSWALD STEELE McCULLOCH

Flight Sergeant 984102
Flt.Engr. 460 (R.A.A.F.) Sqdn, Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve
who died on Friday, 3rd September 1943. Age 27.

Son of John and Janet McDougall McCulloch, of Cumnock, Ayrshire.

Cemetery: AMERSFOORT (OLD LEUSDEN) GENERAL CEMETERY, Utrecht, Netherlands
Grave Reference/Panel Number: Plot 13. Row 8. Coll. grave 170.

In Memory of

JOHN ANDREW SPENCE

Flight Sergeant 421135
Royal Australian Air Force
who died on Friday, 3rd September 1943. Age 31.

Son of John Francis and Christina Spence; husband of Heather Gladys Spence, of Mascot, New South Wales, Australia. Plot/3.

Cemetery: AMERSFOORT (OLD LEUSDEN) GENERAL CEMETERY, Utrecht, Netherlands
Grave Reference/Panel Number: Row 5. Coll. grave 70.

In Memory of

MICHAEL JOHN CHRISTOPHER SIMPSON

Sergeant 1601327
460 (R.A.A.F.) Sqdn, Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve
who died on Friday, 3rd September 1943. Age 28.

Son of Frederick William and Hannah Simpson, of Teddington, Middlesex.

Cemetery: AMERSFOORT (OLD LEUSDEN) GENERAL CEMETERY, Utrecht, Netherlands
Grave Reference/Panel Number: Plot 13. Row 8. Coll. grave 170.

In Memory of

ROBERT LESLIE FREEMAN

Sergeant 1315706
W.Op./Air Gnr.
460 (R.A.A.F.) Sqdn, Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve
who died on Friday, 3rd September 1943. Age 22.

Son of Harry and Gertrude Annie Freeman, of Epwell, Oxfordshire.

Cemetery: AMERSFOORT (OLD LEUSDEN) GENERAL CEMETERY, Utrecht, Netherlands
Grave Reference/Panel Number: Plot 13. Row 8. Coll. grave 170.

Subject:     R B McPhan
Date:              Wed, 11 Apr 2001 21:04:30 +1000
From:            <fattybumbahp@hotmail.com>

My name is robin pratt (nee murray)

ROBERT (robin) BARR MCPHAN was my grandmothers older brother... i just thought I'd email you and let you know..i was named after him and am proud to be related to him. i was just looking in googlesearch and 'stumbled' across your page here.. have you done research on this..???

I'd be interested to know. thank you..

Robin

Can anyone please confirm which aircraft
that McPhan and his crew were shot down in?

Was it W4988 or EE132?

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