On the night of 17th / 18th August 1942 the crew of this 460 Squadron aircraft were tasked with flying an operational flight to attack Osnabruck and left Breighton at 21.47hrs. Having bombed the target they were making for home when they were attacked at 00.08hrs by a Junkers Ju88 and almost immediately the Wellington's rear gunner returned fire. Both aircraft made turns to port, the Wellington dived and the Junkers Ju88 climbed and disappeared. No damage was sustained in this attack. Soon afterwards another Junkers Ju88 attacked the Wellington and again the Wellington's rear gunner returned fire with hits being seen on the Ju88, the rear guns then jammed. A flash was seen from the Ju88 and it dived towards the ground with flames coming from it, it was later claimed as destroyed. Damage had been sustained to the Wellington in this second attack with the both turrets, tail, flaps and undercarriage hydraulics being damaged. A hole was also found in the port main plane and further damage was caused on landing at Breighton at 03.02hrs. The rear gunner was later awarded the DFM for his actions on this night.
Pilot - Sgt Raymond Arthur Brittingham RAAF (403160), of Leura, New South Wales, Australia.
Navigator - Sgt William Mervyn Henry Matchett RAAF (403396), of Grenfell, New South Wales, Australia.
Wireless Operator / Air Gunner - Sgt Robert James Rogers RAFVR (1183329), of Wolverhampton, West Midlands.
Bomb Aimer - Sgt Norman Henry Simpson RAAF (401053), of St.Arnaud, Victoria, Australia.
Rear Gunner - Sgt Peter James Vernon Ghoram-Henderson RAAF (400752) (possibly served as "Henderson")
On the night of 27th / 28th January 1943 P/O Brittingham, P/O Matchett, F/Sgt Rogers and Sgt Simpson were flying in Lancaster W4817 on Ops to Dusseldorf. All were killed and initially buried in Monchengladbach but are now buried in Rheinburg War Cemetery.
Raymond Brittingham was twenty eight years old. He was born on 16th April 1914 in Gunnedah, New South Wales and enlisted in Sydney.
Norman Simpson was twenty one years old. He was born on 10th September 1921 in Essendon, Victoria and enlisted in Melbourne.
William Matchett was twenty eight years old. He was born on 4th August 1914 in Grenfell, New South Wales and enlisted in Sydney.
Robert Rogers was enlisted into the RAFVR in July 1940 and was posted to, after initial training, to 27 OTU in November 1941. He was twenty two years old.
Peter Ghoram-Henderson was born on 29th January 1919 in Dunstable, England but had moved the Australia when he was young. He enlisted for RAAF service in Melbourne but was living in St.Kilda. He was awarded an immediate DFM for service with 460 Squadron and for his actions in the incident recorded above. It was Gazetted on 2nd October 1942 and presented to him at Buckingham Palace on 24th November 1942. The citation reads.. "One night in July 1942, when operating near St. Nazaire, this airman destroyed an enemy fighter which intercepted the bomber in which he was the rear gunner. On another occasion he opened fire on a Ju.88 which attacked his aircraft, and the enemy fighter burst into flames and dived away. The courage and determination displayed by this airman, combined with his skill as a gunner, contributed considerably to the safe return of his aircraft on both occasions."
Wellington Z1401 was built to contract B.97887/40 by Vickers Armstrong's Ltd, at Hawarden, Chester and was awaiting collection in December 1941. It was received by 46 MU on 13th December 1941 and was taken on charge by 460 Squadron on 16th April 1942. As a result of battle damage on 18th August 1942 Cat.Ac/FB damage was the result of the assessment and it was repaired on site at Breighton by a team from Fairfields. On completion of the repair on 26th September 1942 it was returned to 460 Squadron but exactly a month later it was transferred to 300 Squadron at Ingham as 460 Squadron were in the process of exchanging their Wellingtons for Halifaxes. At 300 Squadron it carried the coding "BH-O". On 7th December 1942 it was lost on Ops to Mannheim when it crashed near Boulogne with the loss of five crew. Cat.E(m) damage was recorded on the paperwork. The aircraft was struck off charge on 8th December 1942.