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| Date: | Sunday 31 May 1942 |
| Time: | 01:48 LT |
| Type: |  Handley Page Halifax Mk II |
| Owner/operator: | 405 (Vancouver) Sqn RCAF |
| Registration: | W7707 |
| MSN: | LQ-E |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 7 / Occupants: 7 |
| Other fatalities: | 0 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | Niederaußem, Bergheim, Nordrhein-Westfalen -
 Germany
|
| Phase: | Combat |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | RAF Pocklington |
Operation - first 1000 bomber raid with target Köln, Nordrhein-Westfalen.
The aircraft was shot down by the night fighter crew of Leutnant Brinkhaus & Unteroffizier Keil of the 4./NJG 1, who were flying a Bf 110 E-1 from St Trond (Sint-Truiden) airfield in Belgium.
The Halifax exploded in a huge ball of fire over Niederaußem. A witness on the ground reported that some 1,000 small fragments were found 200 metres outside of the village. The only large parts found were three propellers. The seven-man crew are all missing in action:
Crew:-
R/76357 Sgt Leonard Alfred Wadman RCAF - Runnymede Memorial Panel 107.
810144 Sgt Norman Acton - Runnymede Memorial Panel 77.
R/62398 Flt Sgt Gerald Arthur Welsh RCAF - Runnymede Memorial Panel 107.
119523 Plt Off George Edmund Sankey - Runnymede Memorial Panel 71 (NCO:1168609 Commission Gazetted : Tuesday 05 May, 1942)
NZ404616 Sgt Andrew Fraser McLean RNZAF - Runnymede Memorial Panel 117.
R/98484 Sgt Warren Bryan Pickett RCAF - Runnymede Memorial Panel 107.
917785 Sgt Douglas Henning - Runnymede Memorial Panel 85
Sources:
Nachtjagd Combat Archive The Early Years part three
Google Maps
CWGC
Bomber Command Losses 1942
Rob Davis Bomber Command Losses Database
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 04-Jan-2018 17:36 | Red Dragon | Added |
| 13-Oct-2018 16:50 | stehlik49 | Updated [Location, Destination airport] |
| 14-Oct-2018 12:45 | Nepa | Updated [Operator, Operator] |
| 21-Apr-2020 09:11 | TigerTimon | Updated [Time, Other fatalities, Location, Country, Phase, Source, Damage, Narrative] |
| 23-Nov-2023 12:46 | Rob Davis | Updated [Source, Narrative] |
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