Halifax W7745 damaged by flak, returned to East Moor airfield.
On 25th June 1942 this 158 Squadron aircraft took from East Moor for an operational flight to bomb Bremen at 23.36hrs. It was hit by flak over Germany which damaged the bomb release gear in the nose and the starboard outer engine, the fuselage was also scarred. The aircraft made it back to base and landed at East Moor at 05.27hrs. The crew were not injured.
Pilot - W/C Peter Stevens DFC MiD RAF (37054).
Second Pilot - Sgt Leslie John William Beckman RAFVR (1382013).
Flight Engineer - Sgt Victor Griffiths Hope RAF (619851).
Navigator - F/O Leonard John Fairbairn RNZAF (NZ.401492).
Bomb Aimer - Sgt Moire Alphonse Jean Pierre RAF (933234).
Wireless Operator / Air Gunner - Sgt Edwin Charles Evershed RAFVR (1360239).
Air Gunner - Sgt Norman George Edmund Perrett RAFVR (1164775).
Air Gunner - Sgt Cecil Rupert Palm RAFVR (962992).
Moire Pierre held joint British and Belgian nationality. He received a commission to the rank of P/O on probation (emergency) on 4th October 1942. He was flying in Halifax
DT594 on Ops to Cologne on 15th February 1943 when it was shot down but he evaded capture via Gibraltar and arrived back in the UK on 30th April 1943. He was promoted to F/O on
probation (war subs) on 4th March 1943 and awarded the DFC for service with 158 Squadron, Gazetted on 25th May 1943 the citation reads.. In air operations, this officer displayed
courage and fortitude in keeping with the highest traditions of the Royal Air Force." He was promoted to F/Lt (war subs) on 4th March 1944 and survived the War.
Halifax W7745 was built to contract B73328/40 by Handley Page Ltd, at Radlett and was delivered directly to 158 Squadron on 8th June 1942. Damage was recorded as
Cat.A/FB following battle damage on 26th June 1942. It was repaired on site at East Moor and was returned to service by 8th July 1942 and continued to be used by 158 Squadron.
It was recorded as Cat.E(m) on 11th September 1942 when it failed to return from Ops to Dusseldorf. It was thought to have crashed at sea and bodies of five of the
eight on board were washed ashore in Holland and Belgium. The aircraft was struck off charge on the same date.
W/C Stevens was the first Commanding Officer of 158 Squadron and served in the role from 14th February 1942 to 7th October 1942 when he was posted to 10 OTU. He was awarded a Short Service Commission as P/O on probation on 14th October 1935 and was posted to 57 Squadron, he was later graded as P/O and was posted to 39 Squadron in India in October 1936. The date he rose to F/O is not yet known but he later rose to F/Lt on 19th April 1939 and to S/Ldr (temp) on 1st July 1940. As Acting S/Ldr he was Mentioned in Despatches on 25th October 1940 "in recognition of gallant and distinguished service during operations in Waziristan for the period 1st January 1939 to 31st December 1939". S/Ldr Peter Stevens was awarded the DFC for service with 11 Squadron on 7th March 1941 (the same date as Leonard Cheshire's DFC). He was also awarded the Greek DFC on 29th December 1942. He rose to W/Co (temporary) on 1st March 1942 and later transferred to the Reserve in 1944. He was promoted from W/Co (temp) to W/Co (war subs) on 9th August 1944. He remained in the Reserve after the War until reliquishing his commission on 16th April 1959, retaining the rank of Group Captain.
F/Sgt Beckman was killed on 16th September 1942 when Halifax W1222 crashed in Germany on Ops to Essen, he was only twenty years old and is buried in Reichswald Forest War Cemetery.
Sgt Perrett was killed on 23rd October 1942 when Halifax W7862 crashed into the English Channel on Ops to Genova, he was twenty two years old and has no known grave, he is commemorated on the Runnymede Memorial.
Sgt Evershed became a PoW on 1st August 1942 after Halifax W1190 was shot by flak on Ops to Dusseldorf and was ditched off Amsterdam. He was in the same crew on this flight as S/Ldr Hewitt (see previous flak listing on this website). He was born in 1912 and died in 1984.
Sgt Palm became a PoW on 20th September 1942 when control was lost over Saarbrucken in Halifax W7777, he and his pilot were thrown clear as the aircraft broke up in the air
but the rest of his crew were all killed. (Halifax W7777 was also damaged by flak and appears on this website on 31st July 1942). He was born on the St.Giles area of London in 1917
and married in March, Cambridgshire in 1940. He died in Chatham, Kent in 1977.
F/O Fairbairn was killed on 17th November 1942 when Halifax W7863 crashed in France on Ops to Turin, Italy. He was one of seven of this crew killed, while one became a PoW.
Victor Hope received a commission on 19th January 1943 to the rank of P/O on probation (emergency). He rose to F/O on probation (emergency) on 16th July 1943. As Acting
F/Lt he was awarded the DFC for service with 158 Squadron, Gazetted on 7th December 1943. He rose to F/Lt (war subs) on 17th October 1944. Post War he remained in the RAF and
his F/Lt (war subs) rank was made to F/Lt on 19th July 1946 but retired from the RAF at his own request on 27th October 1947. He possibly died in the Claro (Harrogate) district of Yorkshire in 1991.