Mannheim, 23th/24th September 1943, Lancaster ED702/EA-D:
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This raid was intended to destroy the northern part of Mannheim, which had not been so severely hit in the successful raid earlier in the month. The pathfinder plan worked well and concentrated bombing fell on the intended area, although later stages of the raid crept back across the northern edge of Ludwigshafen and out into the open country. The following buildings were destroyed in Mannheim: 927 houses, 20 industrial premises, 11 schools, 6 public buildings and a chuech. A large number of other buildings were damaged and approximately 25,000 people were bombed out of their homes. 102 people were killed and 418 were injured. There were more than 2,000 fires.
(Text was taken from the book "The Bomber Command War Diary" written by Martin Middlebrook (ISBN-13: 978-1857803358))
The "49 Squadron Association" describes following on their site:
The northern part of Mannheim suffered bombing from 628 aircraft. It cost Bomber Command 18 Lancasters, 7 Halifaxes and 7 Wellingtons.
After their mid-afternoon bus trip from Fiskerton, 13 crews had climbed away from Dunholme Lodge by 18.56hrs. Once over the target, fighters were again much in evidence. The use of searchlights in co-ordination with fighters accounted for many of the losses.
Sadly, the luck of two other 49 Squadron crews did not hold out. Cyril Anderson and his 'Dambuster' crew flying in the Wingco's aircraft, D-Donald, failed to return and were all later reported killed ... this would have been their 21st operation.
The crew of Lancaster ED702 EA-D were posted to 49 Squadron in February 1943, and did their first operation together as a crew on 12 March. After their second trip, they were posted to 617 Squadron but in fact stayed on 49 Squadron to do three more operations, including two to Berlin. After their trip on the Dams Raid, the Anderson crew returned to 49 Squadron and resumed their operational career with an attack on Krefeld on 21 June.
Altogether, they flew on 14 more operations in 49 Squadron, but on 23 September they failed to return from a successful attack on Mannheim. As they headed home, their aircraft was shot down by a night fighter near Offenbach.
The bodies of five of the crew were recovered from the wreckage and were buried by the local Catholic priest Fr Jacob Storck on 26 September.
The bodies of Gilbert Green and one other unidentified member of the crew were not found until after the others, and the pair were buried in Offenbach Cemetery on 28 September, two days after the other five. Arthur Buck married his wife Minnie Rosetta England in Beckenham in 1941. Along with his comrades, after the war he was reburied in Rheinberg War Cemetery. |
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The crew of ED-702 EA-D
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| Cyril Thorpe Anderson |
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Pilot Officer (Pilot)
52024
13 December 1913, Wakefield, Yorkshire
23 September 1943
30 (CWGC: 28)
49 Sqdn. Royal Air Force
Rheinberg War Cemetery, Germany
Son of John Arthur Anderson,
husband of Rose Anderson, nee Darby,
of Bulwell, Nottingham. |
| Robert Campbell Paterson |
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Sergeant (Flight Engineer)
628327
20 September 1907, Edinburgh, Scotland
23 September 1943
36
49 Sqdn. Royal Air Force
Rheinberg War Cemetery, Germany
Son of Robert Aylmer Hunter Paterson and
Wilhelmina Campbell Paterson, of Edinburgh,
husband of Elizbeth McLean Paterson,
of Edinburgh. |
| John Percival Nugent |
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Flight Sergeant (Navigator)
1265662
09 August 1914, Stoney Middleton, Derbyshire
23 September 1943
29
49 Sqdn. Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve
Rheinberg War Cemetery, Germany
Son of Francis and Ellen Nugent,
of Stony Middleton, Derbyshire. |
| William Dougles Bickle |
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Flight Sergeant (Wireless Op./Air Gunner)
1380667
06 March 1922, St. Ann's Chapel, Calstock, Cornwall, England
23 September 1943
49 Sqdn. Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve
Rheinberg War Cemetery, Germany
Son of Percy Rowe Bickle and Alma Bickle,
husband of Violet May Bickle, nee Bickford,
of Knotty Ash, Liverpool. |
| Arthur William Buck |
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Sergeant (Air Gunner)
1305690
30 November 1914, Bromley-by-Bow, London
23 September 1943
28
49 Sqdn. Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve
Rheinberg War Cemetery, Germany
Son of George and Ann Ellen Buck,
husband of Rosetta Buck,
of Beckenham, Kent. |
| Gilbert John Green |
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Flight Sergeant (Air Bomber)
1322942
abt. 1922, Maling, Kent, Englandl
23 September 1943
21
49 Sqdn. Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve
Rheinberg War Cemetery, Germany
Son of Mr. and Mrs. George Gilbert Green,
of Southall, Middlesex. |
| Eric Ewan |
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Flight Sergeant (Air Gunner)
1576002
abt. 1922, Wolverhampton
23 September 1943
21
49 Sqdn. Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve
Rheinberg War Cemetery, Germany
Son of Thomas Rawlinson Ewan and Jane Ewan,
of Wolverhampton. |
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Transfer from North Africa to the UK, 17th/18th November 1943, Lancaster ED735/KC-R:
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After a mission to bomb the Antheor Viaduct in Southern France the 8 Lancasters flew to Blida in Algeria. After a week they returned to Conningsby but ED735 ("KC-R") was never found.
ED735 was airborne 23:40 on 17 Nov 1943 from Rabat, Morocco, having diverted there from the raid on the Antheor Viaduct 11/12 Nov 1943. Lost without trace after being routed via the Iberian Peninsula and the Bay of Biscay. All 7 crew killed: all are commemorated on the Runnymede Memorial. It is also reported that three un-named Army personnel had boarded the aircraft in Rabat for transportation to the UK.
It is assumed that it was shot down by a fighter over the sea. The last signal from ED735 at over the Bay of Biscay, west of the coast of Portugal at 05:55 on the morning of 18 Nov 1943. F/L Youseman and all four DFM holders had previously flown in Stirlings; F/O Grimes with 218 Sqdn and the others in 214 Sqdn. |
| Edward Ernest George Youseman |
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Flight Lieutenant
113351
Distinguished Flying Cross
31 December 1921
18 November 1943
21
617 Sqdn. Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve
Runnymede Memorial, Surrey, UK
Son of Edward George and Eva Annie Youseman,
of Ashford, Middlesex. |
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| Sam James Whittingham |
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Pilot Officer
159886
Distinguished Flying Medal
abt. 1921
18 November 1943
22
617 Sqdn. Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve
Runnymede Memorial, Surrey, UK
Son of Frederick and Sybil Whittingham,
of Prescot, Lancashire. |
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| Leonhard Plishka |
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Pilot Officer
J/17388
abt. 1918
18 November 1943
25
617 (R. A. F.) Sqdn. Royal Canadian Air Force
Runnymede Memorial, Surrey, UK
Son of Mike M. and Horpyna Plishka,
of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. |
| Walter Crawford Grimes |
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Flying Officer
138314
Distinguished Flying Medal
abt. 1921
18 November 1943
22
617 Sqdn. Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve
Runnymede Memorial, Surrey, UK
Son of Walter Crawford Grimes and
Charlotte Lucy Howard Grimes,
of South Shields, Co. Durham. |
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| Alan MacNeiley Laughland |
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Pilot Officer
J/19334
Distinguished Flying Medal
abt. 1922
18 November 1943
21
617 (R. A. F.) Sqdn. Royal Canadian Air Force
Runnymede Memorial, Surrey, UK
Son of James and Florence Laughland,
of Guelph, Ontario, Canada. |
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| Ronald Florence |
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Pilot Officer
41577
Distinguished Flying Medal
15 December 1921, New Plymouth, Taranaki, New Zealand
18 November 1943
21
Royal New Zealand Air Force
Runnymede Memorial, Surrey, UK
Son of Thomas George and Barbara Florence,
of Fitzroy, New Plymouth, New Zealand. |
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| John Brian de Courcy O'Grady |
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Warrant Officer Class I
R/77353
09 February 1913, Westmount, Quebec, Canada
18 November 1943
30
617 (R. A. F.) Sqdn. Royal Canadian Air Force
Runnymede Memorial, Surrey, UK
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SOE supply drop, 10th December 1943, Lancaster ED825/KC-E:
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ED825, KC-E, left Tempsford in the early evening on 10 December 1943 to drop supply for the Resistance in France. It crossed the sea, before turning south. As they neared Doullens (15 miles north of Amiens) at very low-level, Weedon was engaged by a mobile flak gun based near the town's railway station. The aircraft was hit and immediately caught fire, so Weeden banked to starboard, struggling to gain height. This manoeuvre was performed in vain, however, for ED825 struck a hill that rose on the edge of town. The six men in the forward section of the bomber were killed almost instandly, while the rear gunner, WO Robert Cummings (an American in the Royal Canadian Air Force), was found very badly injured several hundred yards from the crash. He died the following day.
ED825 was flown by Flt. Lt. Joe McCarthy in the attack on the Sorpe Dam and had been used as AJ-T. It was subsequently converted to near standard configuration and recoded KC-E.
(Text taken from the book "No. 617 Dambuster Sqn", written by Alex Bateman) |
| Gordon Herbert Weeden |
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Flying Officer (Pilot)
J/17287
03 May 1920, Woodford, Ontario, Canada
10 December 1943
23
617 (R. A. F.) Sqdn. Royal Canadian Air Force
Meharicourt Communal Cemetery, France
Son of Herbert T. Weeden and
Ida Beatrice Weeden, nee Taylor
of Paisley, Ontario, Canada. |
| Ralph Neville Jones |
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Pilot Officer (Navigator)
155094
17 February 1920, Chester, Cheshire, England
10 December 1943
22
617 Sqdn. Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve
Meharicourt Communal Cemetery, France
Son of Ralph Neville and Elsie Jones,
of Wood Green, Middlesex. |
| Robert Geoffrey Howell |
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Flight Sergeant (Wireless Op./Air Gunner)
1380180
abt. 1921
10 December 1943
22
617 Sqdn. Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve
Meharicourt Communal Cemetery, France
Son of William Robert and Eleanor Beatrice Howell,
of Chingford, Essex. |
| Edward Joseph Walters |
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Warrant Officer (Navigator (Bomber))
R/131192
27 March 1917, Oakmont, Pennsylvania, U.S.A.
10 December 1943
26
617 (R. A. F.) Sqdn. Royal Canadian Air Force
Meharicourt Communal Cemetery, France
Son of Anna Walters,
of Oakmont, Pennsylvania, U.S.A. |
| Arthur William Richardson |
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Sergeant (Air Gunner)
1294108
abt. 1924
10 December 1943
19
617 Sqdn. Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve
Meharicourt Communal Cemetery, France
Son of Mr. and Mrs. A. C. Richardson,
of Enfield, Middlesex. |
| Brook Robinson |
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Sergeant (Air Gunner)
987906
13 August 1912, Prestwich, Lancashire, England
10 December 1943
31
617 Sqdn. Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve
Meharicourt Communal Cemetery, France
Son of Clifford and Nellie Robinson,
of Manchester,
husband of Violet May Robinson,
of Blackley, Manchester. |
| Robert Cummings |
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Warrant Officer Class II (Air Gunner)
R/141707
16 June 1914, Scanton, Pennsylvania, USA
11 December 1943
29
617 (R. A. F.) Sqdn. Royal Canadian Air Force
AJ-E (Former AJ-T)
Calais Canadian War Cemetery, Leubringhen, France
Son of Thomas P. and Mary Cummings,
nephew of John Glynn,
of Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, U.S.A. |
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SOE supply drop, 10th December 1943, Lancaster ED886/AJ-O:
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Missing operating an arms drop to the resistance for the S.O.E. Last reported in the area of Terramesnil, France |
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To the crew also belonged:
Flight Officer G. F. Bull (Prisoner of War)
Sergeant C. C. Wiltshire (Prisoner of War)
Sergeant C. M. Chamberland (Prisoner of War)
Flight Sergeant N. Batey (Prisoner of War)
Flight Sergeant J. H. McWilliams (Evaded capture) |
| John McLean Stewart |
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Sergeant (Wireless Op./Air Gunner)
1368456
abt. 1921
11 December 1943
22
617 Sqdn. Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve
Terramesnil Communal Cemetery, France
Son of John and Mary Stewart,
of Cupar, Fife. |
| Donald Menzies Thorpe |
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Warrant Officer Class II (Air Gunner)
R/117355
23 January 1919, Liskeard, Ontario, Canada
11 December 1943
24
617 (R. A. F.) Sqdn. Royal Canadian Air Force
Terramesnil Communal Cemetery, France
Son of Ralston and Mildred Thorpe,
of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. |
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A local newspaper reported:
Flight Sergeant listed missing
Flt. Sgt. Donald M. Thorpe of 527 Arlington Ave. has been reported missing in air operations overseas, his parents Mr. and Mrs. R. R. Thorpe have learned.
Flt. Sgt. Thorpe has been an air gunner on Halifax bombers. Born and educated in New Liskeard, he joined the R. C. A. F. in August 1941, and graduated from Fingal. He has been overseas a year.
"He never told us much about his work overseas," his sister, Mrs. S. A. Moore, said yesterday. "The only time we knew he was in action was from the newspaper after the big raids on Cologne." |
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Operation "Liege", 20th/21st December 1943, Lancaster DV398/KC-Z:
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Taking off from RAF Coningsby at 17:58 hrs to bomb the Cockerel Steel Works (Fabrique Nationale - FN, gun factory) at Liège. Eight Lancaster were sent from 617 Squadron together with eight Mosquitoes in what had hoped to be a diversionary operation for the main effort this night to Frankfurt.
Some reports state that the aircraft was hit by flak, which may well have caused the final explosion which destroyed the aircraft over Merbes-Le-Chateau, Belgium.
This crew had also taken part on the Dam buster operation in the second wave on the Sorpe Dam with Lancaster ED936 AJ-H - during this the aircraft touched the sea and the "upkeep mine" was torn off. The pilot, Geoff Rice skilfully managed to keep the aircraft in the air and during the rapid climb the water collected washed back to the rear of the aircraft, so much so that the rear gunner, Stephen Burns, had to break the perspex canopy to release the water to avoid drowning! Their mission was aborted and they landed at 00:46 hrs.
After several months evading capture Fl/Lt. Geoffrey Rice DFC was eventually caught and sent
to Stalag Luft Sagan and Belaria.
This was the 7th claim for the night fighter ace, Hptm. Kurt Fladrich. Born on the 11th January 1918. He survived the war with a total of 15 Abschüsse. Died on the 21st January 1995.
Text was taken from "Aircrew Remembered". Take a look at their site. |
| Edward Clarence Smith |
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Flight Sergeant (Flight Engineer)
540655
abt. 1919, Easthampstead, Berkshire, England
20 December 1943
24
617 Sqdn. Royal Air Force
Gosselies Communal Cemetery, Belgium
Son of Clarence and Annie Smith,
husband of Evelyn Sarah Smith,
of Easthampstead, Berkshire. |
| Richard MacFarlane |
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Flying Officer (Navigator)
126044
20 December 1943
617 Sqdn. Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve
Gosselies Communal Cemetery, Belgium
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| John William Thrasher |
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Pilot Officer (Air Bomber)
J/19337
30 July 1920, Amherstburg, Ontario, Canada
20 December 1943
23
617 (R. A. F.) Sqdn. Royal Canadian Air Force
Gosselies Communal Cemetery, Belgium
Son of Charles De Vere Thrasher and Irene Agnes Thrasher,
of Amherstburg, Ontario, Canada. |
| Chester Bruce Gowrie |
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Warrant Officer Class II (Wireless Op./Air Gunner)
R/93201
14 April 1918, Scott Kindersley, Saskatchewan, Canada
20 December 1943
25
617 (R. A. F.) Sqdn. Royal Canadian Air Force
Gosselies Communal Cemetery, Belgium
Son of Malcolm Alvery Gowrie and Phyllis Gowrie,
of Tramping Lake, Saskatchewan, Canada. |
| Thomas William Maynard |
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Flight Sergeant (Air Gunner)
1386420
December 1924, Wandsworth, Greater London, England
20 December 1943
20
617 Sqdn. Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve
Gosselies Communal Cemetery, Belgium
Son of Sydney Thomas Maynard and
Janet Isabella Maynard,
of Wandsworth, London. |
| Stephen Burns |
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Flight Sergeant (Air Gunner)
1217692
abt. 1921
20 December 1943
22
617 Sqdn. Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve
Gosselies Communal Cemetery, Belgium
Son of John and Sarah Jane Burns,
of Dudley, Worcestershire. |
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