JB-659, a Lancaster Mk.III of 97 Squadron, was shot down by a German night fighter on 30th January 1944 at 22.05 about the Dutch Houtrak polder near the villages of Haarlemmerliede and Spaarnwoude. The aircraft crashed into a farmhouse killing all of the crew, the farmer's wife and four of the nine children. The farmer, Cor Van de Bijl died two days later in hospital. The bodies of two of the Lancaster crew were recovered and buried in the village of Zwanenburg. The other five crew remained buried with the wreckage of the aircraft until its excavation by the Royal Netherlands Air Force last year.

The crew comprised of:Pilot: Allan Hart, 22 (RAAF); Gordon Ivon Williams, 21 (RCAF); Leslie Clifton, 24 (RAF) Charles Melville Price, 30 (RAF); Douglas Frederick Hicks, 24 (RAF);William Joseph Jones, 21 (RAF);Harold James Boal, 20 (RAAF)

Please Note: at present none of JB-659 is on display at the museum

The debris of the Lancaster will eventually be displayed in the Nissen Hut. Until such time as the display space is ready, selected parts will be displayed in the Control Tower. In the meantime the museum is seeking funding and / or sponsorship to fund the erection of the Nissen Hut on site.