P/O Brett was killed on the 30th January 1943.
He is buried in the Plougasnou Communal Cemetery.

Extract from W R Chorley's Bomber Command Losses 



Michael was born in 1921. He was a shy fellow who worked for the Midland Bank before the war and loved playing cricket.
He knew his work was very dangerous and did not expect his life to last until the end of 1943.

A relative met a French witness to the crash. The aircraft flew over with one engine on fire then the burning engine fell off, causing the aircraft to lose balance and crash.
Pilot Sidney White had been commended by the Air Ministry in 1942 for a wheels up landing at RAF Kidlington after a multiple engine failure.
His known skill at emergency landings may have been the reason for the crew not bailing out but remaining on board the stricken aircraft.
Repeated air attacks on the U Boat pens at Lorient are one of the saddest failures of Bomber Command. However, as part of the then desperate Battle of the Atlantic, there was probably little choice in the matter.
Historians think that the huge bomb proof structures should have been attacked during construction. After this it was simply too late.
Bomber Command appeared to recognise this in its attacks on Lorient's overall infrastructure and transport links.

Image and additional imformation courtesy of Michael Brett.