Show on mapAndrew Mynarski was a Canadian airman who died on 13th June 1944 when his Lancaster bomber caught fire after being shot down over northern France. He tried to rescue tail gunner Pat Brophy who was trapped in his turret. Mynarski’s parachute and flight suit caught fire and he died shortly after bailing out of severe burns.
Amazingly Pat Brophy survived the fire, crash and the subsequent detonation of the bombs and was able to tell the story of the efforts to same him which resulted in Andrew Mynarski being awarded the Victoria Cross.
Mynarski was a member of 419 Squadron, who are commemorated nearby along with 420 and 428 Squadrons.
Thought your readers might also be interested in one of only two flying Lancasters. The one here is Hamilton, Ontario is dedicated to Mynarski. here is its description:
The Museum’s Lancaster Mk. X was built at Victory Aircraft, Malton in July 1945 and was later converted to a RCAF 10MR configuration. In 1952, it suffered a serious accident and received a replacement wing centre section from a Lancaster that had flown in combat over Germany. It served as a maritime patrol aircraft, with No. 405 Squadron, Greenwood, NS and No. 107 Rescue Unit, Torbay, Newfoundland for many years and was retired from the RCAF in late 1963. With help from the Sulley Foundation in 1977, it was acquired from the Royal Canadian Legion in Goderich, Ontario, where it had been on outside display. Eleven years passed before it was completely restored and flew again on September 24, 1988. The Lancaster is dedicated to the memory of P/O Andrew Mynarski and is referred to as the “Mynarski Memorial Lancasterâ€. It is painted in the colours of his aircraft KB726 – VR-A, which flew with RCAF No. 419 (Moose) Squadron. Andrew Mynarski won the Victoria Cross, the Commonwealth’s highest award for gallantry, on June 13, 1944, when his Lancaster was shot down in flames, by a German night fighter. As the bomber fell, he attempted to free the tail gunner trapped in the rear turret of the blazing and out of control aircraft. The tail gunner miraculously survived the crash and lived to tell the story, but sadly Andrew Mynarski died from his severe burns.
we will never be out of debt to these very brave men
(BRian Moore) ex RAF Middleton St.George)