Flt/Sgt Traeger was part of the crew of Lancaster bomber DV290 which was a secret plane. Traeger spoke German and his role was to speak directly to the German night fighters who thought they were receiving instructions from their own leaders. In fact Traeger was sending them in different directions to clear a path for the Lancaster bombers. On the last operation V290, on their way back to Welford Airfield and having not responded to any air traffic controller's calls, were considered the enemy. The runway lights were turned off and in the darkness the plane crashed on landing killing all on board. The plane was badly shot up over Germany and had limped home.