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Manchester L7494

Type : Manchester Mark : I First Flew : 4th October 1941 Last Flew : 7th December 1941 Built at : A.V.Roe & Co. Ltd Known Codes : QR

Known information

07th December 1941

L4954 was delivered to 61 Squadron on the 4th October 1941 Manchester I L7494 had taken off at 17.42 from Woolfox Lodge. It was part of a force of 19 aircraft consisting of Manchesters, Wellingtons and Hampdens tasked to attack Boulogne. It was the only aircraft lost. The Avro Manchester aircraft exploded and crashed, cause not recorded, into the sea off of Boulogne. The crew were Squadron Leader John Lawrence RILEY 39620 age 26 of Sandyhills Glasgow ; Sergeant Cyril Leslie WELLS 918373 age 22 ; Pilot Officer Reginald ADCOCK 106142 age 30 of Redhill Surrey; Sergeant John Victor RANDALL 974633 age 23 of Appley Bridge Lancashire; Flight Sergeant John WILSON 747796 age 33 of Jordanhill Glasgow; Sergeant James Benjamin LEIGH, RNZAF 40942 age 23 of Grey Lynn, Auckland New Zealand; Sergeant James CRAWFORD 1379167 age 17 of Linton-on Ouse Yorkshire; all were killed, Sgt. Wells is buried in Boulogne Eastern Cemetery, while the remainder of the crew have no known graves and are commemorated on the Runnymede Memorial.

Pilots and Aircrew who flew : Manchester I L7494
A list of all aircrew from our database who are associated with this aircraft. A profile page is available by clicking their name.
Name	Info
Randall, Jack Click the name above to see a profile of Randall, Jack    Died : 7 / 12 / 1941	Randall, Jack Sergeant Jack Randallserved with the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve 61 . His Manchester was listed as missing on operations on the night of 7/8 December 1941. L7494 had taken off at 17.42 from Woolfox Lodge. It was part of a force of 19 aircraft consisting of Manchesters, Wellingtons and Hampdens tasked to attack Boulogne. It was the only aircraft lost. The Avro Manchester aircraft exploded and crashed, cause not recorded, into the sea off of Boulogne.

Squadrons for : Manchester I L7494
A list of all squadrons known to have flown Manchester I L7494. A profile page is available by clicking the squadron name.
Squadron	Info
No.61 Sqn RAF Country : UK Founded : 25th July 1917 Fate : Disbanded 31st March 1958 Per prurum tonantes - Thundering through the clear sky Click the name above to see prints featuring aircraft of No.61 Sqn RAF	No.61 Sqn RAF On July 1917 at RAF Rochford in Essex No.61 Squadron was formed and along with two other squadrons formed the London Air Defence Area intended to counter the daylight air raids. 61 squadron was equipped with the Sopwith Pup. The squadron first went into action on 12 thAugust, when a formation of 10 German Gotha bombers were seen over the Thames. Sixteen Sopwith Pups of No.61 Squadron took off to intercept them and succeeded in turning the enemy back, but not before two bombs had been dropped near No.61s hangars on Rochford Aerodrome. In 1918, 61 squadron was re-equipped with SE5s. When the armistice had been signed and the war was over 61 squadron was disbanded on 13th June 1919. No. 61 Squadron was re-formed on 8th March 1937 as a bomber squadron, and initially flying Hawker Audax, then the Avro Anson, followed by the Bristol Blenheim and during World War II flew with No. 5 Group, Bomer Command flying the Handley Page Hampden. The squadrons first operational mission was on 25th December 1939. The squadron then was equipped with the Avro Manchester. The slow delivery of the Manchester meant that the squadron operated both aircraft from July 1941 when the first Manchesters arrived, through to October 1941 when the use of the last of the Hampdens stopped. The squadron struggled on with the Manchester before converting to the Avro Lancaster in 1942, which 61 squadron flew for the rest of the war. Four of its Lancasters; ED860 N-Nan, EE176, JB138, and LL483, each served on more than 100 operational sorties. Records show that in the case of the first three aircraft, the long road to their centuries included participation in the raid on 3/4 November 1943, when Flt Lt William Reid of No. 61 Squadron won the Victoria Cross. After the war No. 61 Squadron re-equipped with Avro Lincolns in May 1946 and saw action in Malaya during Operation Firedog and during the Mau Mau uprising in Kenya. In 1954 at RAF Wittering, 61 Squadron was equipped with the new English Electric Canberra. The Canberras of the squadron were used during the Suez Crisis in 1956. Finally on March 31st 1958, 61 squadron wasd disbanded.

Aircraft type : Manchester
A profile page including a list of all art prints for the Manchester is available by clicking the aircraft name.
Aircraft	Info
Manchester Click the name above to see prints featuring Manchester aircraft. Manufacturer : Avro	Manchester Full profile not yet available.

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