Simon Glancey has submitted the following:
Flight Sgt Cairns was an air gunner aboard Liberator VI TS526 6G-T, nicknamed 'The Spook', of 223 Squadron, which was shot down by a Luftwaffe night fighter flown by Hptm. Johannes Hager of II./NJG1. It crashed about 2 miles south of Buhle. The Liberator was operating a 'Jostle' radio counter-measures and radar jamming mission in support of other R.A.F. bombers attacking Bohlen. Of the ten crew, only one survived to be made a P.o.W.
Bomber Command Losses 1945, W. R. Chorley, 2008, Midland Counties Publishing, ISBN 978 0904597929, page 141.
Tony Hibberd has added the following:
Liberator TS526 6G-T had departed Oulton at 2322 for Ops Bomber SupportThere are two possible claims for this lossIt was possibly intercepted at 4200M W of Kassel by a Night-Fighter captained by Nacht-Jagd “Experten” Hptm Johannes Hager (VI/NJG1) and shot down at 0311 for his 42nd Abschuss, Or
It was possibly intercepted 25km W of Kassel by a Night-Fighter captained by Nacht-Jagd “Experten” Hptm Fritz Lau (IV/NJG1) and shot down at 0328 for his 25th Abschuss
Nacht Jagd War Diaries Vol 2 Dr Theo Boiten
Joseph Davidson Cairns is remembered in Ashington on A17.43
