Crew 15

Crew's 15 (Lytle) & 44 (Smith) crash sites, 27/28 Sept. 1943, Hanover raid

Aerial view of 2 crash sites

On the night of 27/28 September 1943 three aircrews from 434 squadron “FTR” from a raid to Hanover Germany, all were killed. To date the following information has been provided on crew 15 and crew 44.

P/O Orville Lytle - crew 15, aerial view

Kindness of Eberholzen

With the very kind aid of residents of Eberholzen, Mr. Holger Neuman and Mr. Uwe Spillmann, the exact location of Harry's death has been identified.

Mrs. Gerda Kühn from Eberholzen has related the following to Uwe:

"Her father, Mr. Heinrich Busch, the local carpenter, organized the funeral here in the village and built the coffins. When the bodies where moved to Hannover he received a letter from RAF or RCAF authorities, in which they expressed their thanks for his work and support".

P/O Lytle - crew 15

P/O Orville Lytle - crew 15

L to R

P/O. Orville Lytle (Pilot) F/S. R C. Pedlar (Nav.) F/S. J.H.T. Monteith (B/A) Sgt. H. Lindsay (F/E) Sgt. M.D. Chasmar (W/Op. AG) F/S. Harry E. Hansell (AG) F/S. J.A. Leach (AG) Sgt. E. Elder (Extra Pilot - not shown)

Aircraft wreckage, P/O Lytle crew 15. 1 of 2

Wreckage of Halifax LK-917

Mr. Holger Neuman has also found amazing photos of the wreckage of LK-917 taken during wartime more than 60 years ago.

Aircraft wreckage, 2 of 2

Halifax V LK-917 (WL-X)

In the forest south of Eberholzen...

60 years later... in April 2003, Uwe Spillmann provided the following photos...

Halifax LK-917 came to rest in the trees where his daughter is standing.

Eberholzen 3

With the passage of time, more than sixty years in number, nature has reclaimed the site and covered the scarred earth where bomber LK-917 crashed. In similar fashion, time has healed many of the wounds of war between our nation and the people of Germany.

Eberholzen

“Eberholzen, lower Saxony, Germany view from the aircraft crash location”

The relatives of Harry Hansell graciously thank Uwe Spillmann for providing the photos of the beautiful rural landscape and crash site.

Direct link to "Harry's Story"