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Lancaster JA 914 German Technology Museum, Berlin
Starboard wing and undercarriage of Lancaster JA914 (code DX-O) on display at the Deutsches Technik Museum in Berlin. The remains are from a bomber which was shot down during a raid on Berlin in 1943.
A board beside the exhibit gives some details about the aircraft and its recovery from the lake of Wünsdorfer See near Zossen, south of Berlin on 29 September 1997.
JA914 was lost during a night raid on 3/4th September 1943. The 57 Squadron bomber was based at RAF East Kirkby in Lincolnshire.
The aircraft was shot down over Berlin by a FW190 nightfighter flown by Uffz Fritz Brinkmann at half past midnight. The Lancaster crashed into the lake, killing all on board.
CREW
Sergeant J.T Carruthers RAF
Flight Sergeant W.E Grindley RAAF
Sergeant H.I Jones RAF
Flight Sergeant David. Livingstone RAAF
Sergeant A Moore RAF
Sergeant H.M Porteus RCAF
Sergeant A Sutcliffe RAF
A copy of Die Welt provides some details of the recovery and the memoir of a witness; 10 year Günter Bethke who saw the British bombers coming from the south and heading for Berlin. Two German night fighters attacked the British. A four-engined bomber swerved from the conflict and “curved in a burning loop over the lake. With a deafening crash the plane exploded,” he recalled.
The recovery of the Lancaster cost 25,000 Marks (about £10,000) and was funded by the German Technology Museum in Berlin (DTM) where the wreck is now displayed. About £10,000
Regarding the crew, Bethke said in 1997, “two bodies, my father found and buried on the morning after the crash near the lido. The English had the dead transferred later…. Two more dead, still strapped in their seats were sat in the fuselage, were recovered by the Soviets”.
One crew member may have survived the crash but appears to have been shot immediately after the crash in the reeds by the lake’s edge, if I have the translation correct;
“Ein drittes Besatzungsmitglied soll unmittelbar nach dem Absturz im Schilf erschossen worden seinâ€
Photo of recovery of the wreck from Wünsdorfer See from Deutsches Technikmuseum Berlin
http://www.sdtb.de/Englisch.55.0.html
References;
Die Welt, Brennend stürzte die Lancaster in den See, 10 October 1997
http://www.welt.de/print-welt/article642630/Brennend-stuerzte-die-Lancaster-in-den-See.html
Nachtjagd War Diaries, Volume One, Dr Theo E W Boiten, 2011
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Below; Lancaster bomber Just Jane at RAF East Kirby
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I visited the museum 22 May 2025. An outstanding museum and exhibits.
I went to the museum with my German mate. Both our fathers were involved in WW2. My father was in the RAAF, worked as an airframe fitter on B24s in Australia. Growing up in the 1950s and 1960s I heard the stories and built model aeroplanes. All war is a tragedy with generational trauma. My father’s war stopped when he passed away on 19 July 2006 at 82. He enlisted as an 18 year old in 1942. At 70 years of age and a grandfather I believe each generation needs to see in part the reality others through education. Berlin’s museum offers an informative experience on many levels.
Hi Geoffrey, thank you for your comment. I totally agree, education and seeing matters from all perspectives is key to understanding and preventing history being repeated. I am not sure – with social media and clickbait articles triggering extreme responses – we are going in the right direction. More thoughtful and reflective approaches like yours are needed today more than ever.
This is a great museum though. I was also in Berlin a couple of months ago, we didn’t visit the museum then but will next time we visit (Spring 2026, got a trip to Berlin booked).
Incidentally, my Dad joined the Royal Navy in 1938. He went to Manchester intending to join the RAF, but passed the window of the RN recruitment office and preferred the uniform of a sailor, so joined up there and then!
Best wishes, and thanks again,
Ian