Halifax NA611 at East Moor airfield.
On the 15th of January 1945 this Halifax swung on take off at 15.53hrs for Ops to the
Grevonbrioch marshalling yards in Germany. It crashed into trees at the edge of the
airfield and caught fire. The crew survived although some suffered burns. William Chorley reports in his Bomber Command Losses book that
the crew had just arrived at East Moor on the 30th of December 1944 from 76 Base (RCAF).
Pilot - F/Sgt E F Sirtonski RCAF, injured. (Also refered to as F/Sgt Sirtonald RCAF)
Flight Engineer - Sgt D L Broughton RAF, injured.
Navigator- F/Sgt (or W/O) Ian McKeen Campbell RCAF. Injured, suffered burns.
? - F/O G T Abel RCAF, uninjured.
? - F/Sgt F Fasang RCAF, injured.
? - F/Sgt E H Engman RCAF, injured.
? - Sgt William Dekor/Dekur RAF, injured.
? - Sgt E L Gates RAF, uninjured.
My thanks to Dyan Campbell for contacting me regarding this incident.
Halifax NA611 was built to contract ACFT/891 by Fairey Aviation Ltd at Stockport and delivered
during the last week of July 1944 to 420 Squadron at Tholthorpe. 420 Squadron were not upto strength so
it more or less immediately transferred to 415 Squadron at East Moor in mid-August 1944 to fill a gap
there. It begun Ops on 14th August 1944, following flak damage (on it's twelveth) in September 1944
it was repaired at East Moor with the repair completed by 14th October 1944 when it was next
used on Ops. It sustained Cat.E2/Burnt damage on 14th January 1945 in this incident detailed above
- the aircraft's thirty fifth operational flight.