'The final page in their story': World War Two Lancaster bomber and its crewmen's remains discovered in German field 69 years after it crashed.

A RollsRoyce engine and landing gear was found followed by 'hundreds' of fragments of human bones in what would have been the cockpit.

The seven strong crew died in April 1943 after coming under fire from German anti-aircraft flak.

British Air Ministry tried to find the final resting place of the crew but withno success so assumed aircraft had crashed in the sea.

Sixty-nine years after their burning plane plunged to the ground after being shot
down by the Germans, the remains of seven Lancaster Bomber crewmen have
been recovered.

They were discovered by a team of German historians who spent hours digging a muddy field near Frankfurt looking for the RAF crew after an eye-witness who saw the plane crash guided
them to the site.

A Rolls-Royce engine and landing gear of the World War Two aircraft was found followed by 'hundreds' of fragments of human bones in what would have been the cockpit.

The archaeological dig in Germany was questioned by some locals who couldn't understand why the team were searching for British airmen who bombed their cities. Uwe Benkel, who led the search, said they felt obliged to find the missing men and bring comfort to their families who knew
nothing of how or where they died.

Some of the relatives have now expressed their gratitude to the amateur historians and are hoping to finally bury their loved ones seven decades after their deaths.

Mr Benkel, 51, said: 'A lot of people couldn't understand what we were doing and said things like why were we digging up British airmen who bombed our cities and killed our people?

'Our view is that this is past and history, it was 70 years ago. We are another generation. 'We do research on missing men who are still in the ground. 'It doesn't make a difference if they are German or British; they were young men who fought and died for their country'.

Link: http://www.forcesreunited.org.uk/forum/50756/1/World_War_Two_Lancaster_bomber_and_its_crewmens_remains_discovered_in_German_field