Halifax W7666 damaged by flak, returned to Leeming airfield.
On the night of 3rd / 4th May 1942 the crew on board this 10 Squadron aircraft were tasked with an operational flight to bomb Hamburg and left Leeming at 23.24hrs. Over the target flak bursts slightly damaged the tailplane and bomb doors but the crew released their load and returned to base, landing at Leeming at 05.01hrs.
Pilot - W/O Eos Clwydfryn Lloyd RAF (522279).
Second Pilot - P/O Laurence David Hillier RCAF (J/6380).
Observer - Sgt Darby.
Wireless Operator / Air Gunner - F/Sgt William Norman Guertin RCAF (R/68183).
Air Gunner - Sgt H Rycroft (Possibly Sgt Henry Rycroft RAFVR (1303455)).
Air Gunner - Sgt Ruane.
Flight Engineer - Sgt James Woods Thain RAF (568996).
On 5th / 6th November 1942 F/Sgt Guertin was flying in Halifax W7671 when an engine caught fire soon after taking off, his then pilot initially instructed his crew to abandon the
aircraft and two of the crew complied but the fire then went out and after dumping the bombload the aircraft, complete with the rest of the crew including F/Sgt Guertin, landed safely
at base of Fayid. The two airmen who had baled out survived and later returned to their unit. On 10th / 11th November 1942 F/Sgt Guertin was flying operationally in Halifax DT498 when
the aircraft was hit and badly damaged by flak in the Tobruk area. With the aircraft on fire the order to abandon it was given and three of the crew including F/Sgt Guertin survived.
Sadly three other members of his then crew died. F/Sgt Guertin probably landed in the sea as one of the other survivors reportedly swam four miles to the African coast and after hiding
for four days was eventually picked up by Allied troops. Guertin was captured and spent the rest of the War as a PoW.
F/Sgt Thain was not involved in F/Sgt Guertin's two 462 Squadron incidents and flew with this unit until Christmas 1942 when the unit received orders that all existing aircrew with
462 Squadron were instructed to return to the UK as all were classed as Tour Expired aircrew (all were deemed to have completed their operational tours in North Africa). 462 Squadron
re-equipped with new aircrew in January 1943. F/Sgt Thain's new unit or later postings are not known. Sgt Thain may have been James Wood Thain RAF (568996) and if so then he received
a commission on 27th April 1944 (54584) to the rank of Acting P/O on probation (emergency) in the Technical Branch of the RAF. He was graded as P/O on probation on 7th September 1944
and was promoted to F/O (war subs) on 7th March 1945. He remained in the RAF after the war taking the rank of F/O and was later promoted to F/Lt on 11th May 1948. He was appointed to a permanent commission of F/Lt in the Technical Branch on 16th May 1952.
Halifax W7666 was built to contract B.73328/40 by Handley Page Ltd. at Radlett and was awaiting collection on 15th April 1942. It was taken on charge by 10 Squadron at Leeming on 22nd April 1942. It sustained minor flak damage on 4th May 1942 that saw Cat.A/FB be the damage assessment and it was repaired on site at Leeming. As a result of a landing mishap at Leeming on 24th May 1942 the damage was assessed and it was deemed not worth repairing, Cat.E/FA damage was the damage assessment and it was struck off charge on 28th May 1942.
Sgt Darby had previously served with 77 Squadron and was posted to 10 Squadron in April 1942. Nothing more is known about him.
Sgt Ruane may well have been a Sgt Patrick Joseph Ruane RAF (546586). This airman was an air gunner with 619 Squadron on 15th June 1943 flying in Lancaster ED980 on Ops to Oberhausen when the aircraft was attacked and shot down by a night-fighter over Holland. All were killed and Sgt Ruane is buried in Eindhoven General Cemetery. CWGC lists no personal information for him but his name is listed on the Gzira War Memorial in Malta and that an Ancestry.com forum posting from what would appear to have been made by his grandchild suggests that he was Irish and had married a Maltese lady during the war. A Ronald Arthur Ruane RAFVR (910356) may also be the airman who served with 10 Squadron. Information required.
David Hillier was posted to 10 Squadron on 2nd January 1942, he was to have been with the part of 10 Squadron that were detached to the Middle East with 10/227 Squadron but whilst making the trip from England to Egypt in Halifax W1178 on 8th July 1942 the aircraft crashed on Gibraltar. Being aircraft-less he was then un-able to get to Africa so was posted back to England and re-joined his parent unit of 10 Squadron. He was later posted to 405 Squadron on 8th August 1942 and then appointed as "B-Flight" Commander. He was sadly killed on 3rd September 1942 flying Halifax DT487 on Ops to Karlsruhe, Germany, the aircraft was shot down by a German night-fighter (piloted by Oblt Martinek of 1/NJG4) which then crashed at 01.46hrs in Belgium. F/Lt Hillier was initially buried locally in the Communal Cemetery Lesves, Belgium but was later exhumed and reburied in the War Cemetery, Hotton, Belgium. He was twenty four years old. My thanks to Bernard LeJeune of La Tuque, Quebec for contacting me regarding F/Lt Hillier.
F/Sgt Eos Lloyd, F/Sgt William Guertin and Sgt Thain were part of the 10 Squadron contingent that were sent on detachment to North Africa in Mid-1942 and made it in one piece. They were flying together on Ops in July 1942 with 10/227 Squadron based at Fayid and later in the year Guertin and Thain were posted to join 462 Squadron on its formation in North Africa but Lloyd sustained a head injury when he was struck by a lorry so was taken off flying durties. Thain and Guertin flew operationally with 462 Squadron in October and November 1942.