Halifax MZ947 hit by flak, returned to East Moor airfield.

On 13th September 1944 this aircraft was on Ops to the Osnabruck marshalling yards when it sustained minor flak damage. The pilot was able to make a return to Yorkshire and landed safely at East Moor. The aircraft was repaired. The probable crew involved in the flak incident details above was..

Pilot - F/O John E McAllister RCAF (J/13316).

Flight Engineer - Sgt Watling,

Navigator - F/O Charles J Prawdzik RCAF (J/37535), of Polonia, Manitoba, Canada.

Wireless Operator / Air Gunner - Sgt J G Rhodes RCAF,

Bomb Aimer - Sgt Elgin (Bud) Alonzo Moynes RCAF, of Brantford, Ontario, Canada.

Air Gunner - Sgt G H Smith RCAF,

Air Gunner - Sgt A E Smith RCAF,

The above named crew were involved in a more serious incident on 12th October 1944, they were undertaking a daylight Op to Wanna Eickel when the aircraft was hit by flak seriously injuring F/O Prawdzik. F/Lt McAllister landed at Woodbridge airfield in an attempt to save the life of his navigator but a tyre burst on landing and the aircraft was further damaged injuring the rear gunner, F/O A Smith. Sadly F/O Prawdzik died of his injuries soon after landing, he was later buried at Brookwood Cemetery. He was twenty three years old. Two DFC's were awarded for actions given on this raid and the details are given below.
F/O McAllister and crew commenced Ops with 415 Squadron on 12th August 1944. The flak incident detailed at the top of this page took place on his fourth operational flight. Towards the end of September 1944 he was promoted to F/Lt and was awarded the DFC on 19th December 1944 for his actions previously described. Promoted to S/Ldr in February 1945 he went on to complete a thirty one Op Tour with the last being on 14th March 1945. He was born in Milltown, New Brunswick in 1921 and attended the University of New Brunswick. He enlisted in Moncton in September 1941 and was commissioned the following year. His DFC was not presented until March 1949. The Citation for his DFC reads..

"In October 1944, this officer was the pilot of an aircraft detailed to attack Wanne Eickel. Whilst many miles from the target area the aircraft was hit by anti-aircraft fire. A large hole was torn in the nose of the aircraft, the navigator was wounded and had to be taken to a rest position for attention. Nevertheless, Flight Lieutenant McAllister went on to the target and executed a successful attack. He afterwards flew the damaged aircraft back to an airfield in this country and effected a safe landing in difficult circumstances. Flight Lieutenant McAllister displayed high qualities of leadership, skill and resolution throughout."

Elgin Moynes was born in 1922 in Oshawa, Ontario. He enlisted in Toronton in July 1942 and was living in Kitchener, Ontario at the time where he was employed as an electrical apprentice. He was Commissioned in 1944 and later awarded the DFC, effective from 5th April 1945 and presented at Buckingham Palace on 13th July 1945. The Citation for this award reads..

"As air bomber this officer has participated in many operational sorties including attacks against Kiel, Dortmund and Karlsruhe. At all times he has shown outstanding skill, determination and devotion to duty. In October 1944 his aircraft was detailed to attack Wanne Eickel in daylight. Twenty minutes before reaching the target heavy anti-aircraft fire was encountered and the navigator was severely wounded. Pilot Officer Moynes rendered first aid to the wounded navigator and after returning to his own position he successfully bombed the target. He the assumed the navigator's duties and navigated the aircraft to the nearest home base. Pilot Officer Moynes' coolness and courage under perilous circumstances combined with his outstanding gallantry have been worthy of the highest praise."

MZ947 was built to contract ACFT/637 by Rootes Securities Ltd at Speke and delivered to 415 Squadron at East Moor on 29th August 1944. MZ947 commenced Ops with 415 Squadron on 9th September, replacing MZ956, "6U-C". This flak incident took place on it's fifth Op with it sustaining Cat.A/FB damage in the incident detailed above. It was repaired on site with repairs completed by 15th September 1944. It again sustained flak damage, Cat.B/FB, on 12th October 1944 on its fifteenth but the repair was probably more serious and it ended its operational career and was replaced in time by MZ882. It was taken into Works and repaired at the Y.A.R.D. workshops at Clifton. It was then issued to 1665 HCU at Saltby in April 1945 and moved with the unit to Marston Moor on 1st August 1945. It later passed into MU storage at Clifton in the same month and struck off charge and scrapped on 20th September 1945.