On the night of 8th / 9th June 1942 the crew of this 460 Squadron aircraft were tasked with flying an operational flight to attack Essen and left Breighton at 23.47hrs. The aircraft was caught in a searchlight cone over the target area and flak was reported around the aircraft as the bombs were released. The aircraft was hit by flak and slightly damaged but the pilot was able to make a safe return to Breighton and landed at 04.58hrs.
Pilot - Sgt Mason Day Frecker RAAF (402653), of Mosman, New South Wales, Australia.
Second Pilot - Sgt John Alexander Bryden RAAF (404601), of Warwick, Queensland, Australia.
Navigator - Sgt Albert Ernest Brown RAAF (403105), of Wellington, New South Wales, Australia.
Wireless Operator / Air Gunner - Sgt Keith John Danks-Brown RAAF (404403), of Mosman, New South Wales, Australia.
Bomb Aimer - Sgt Jack Caddy Shuttleworth RCAF (R/68135), of Ingersoll, Ontario, Canada.
Rear Gunner - Sgt Terence Claude Harris RAAF (406453), of Mosman Park, Western Australia, OR Annandale, New South Wales.
Wellington Z1463 was built to contract B.97887/40 by Vickers Armstrong's Ltd. at Hawarden and was awaiting collection in January 1942. It was received by 8 MU at Little Rissington and prepared for operational flying and was then taken on charge by 460 Squadron at Breighton on 8th May 1942 as a replacement aircraft for those lost earlier in the year. As a result of the minor damage on 9th June 1942 Cat.A/FB damage was the assessment. It was repaired on site at Breighton and continued to be used by 460 Squadron but was lost on 10th August 1942 when it crashed in Holland on an operational flight. The aircraft was struck off charge on 1st September 1942.
Mason Frecker was born on 14th August 1918 in Brisbane and enlisted in Sydney. F/Sgt Frecker was awarded the DFM for service with 460 Squadron, Gazetted on 29th December 1942, he was presented with it at Buckingham Palace on 30th March 1943. The citation for his DFM reads.. "F/Sgt Frecker has acted as captain on a large number of sorties, including attacks on Essen, Poissy, Rostock, Bremen and other well-defended targets. On one occasion, after attacking Essen, his aircraft was badly damaged during an engagement with an enemy fighter. Despite this, he flew it back to this country and made a successful crash-landing."He was later posted to 24 RAAF Squadron and Mentioned in Despatches on 4th September 1945 "for services in the North Western Area" after flying Liberators. On 5th August 1944 he was the pilot of Liberator A72-41 on an operational flight, during a bombing run on an enemy ship his aircraft was hit by anti-aircraft fire and his rear gunner, F/O Bertram Middleton RAAF (408052), was killed. The aircraft was also damaged in the port wing, port vertical stabiliser and fuselage just forward of the rear turret. F/O Frecker landed at Darwin. At the time of this incident F/O Frecker had logged over 1,100 hour flying time.
On 10th September 1942 F/Sgt Bryden (26), Sgt Brown (28), Sgt Danks-Brown (26) and Sgt Harris were flying Ops to Dusseldorf in Wellington Z1216, their aircraft crashed near Cologne with the loss of the whole crew. They were initially buried in Cologne Southern Cemetery but were later exhumed and are now buried in Rheinburg War Cemetery, Germany.
John Bryden was born on 21st November 1915 in Pittsworth, Queensland, he enlisted on 11th October 1940 in Brisbane and was working in fruit growing at the time. He was awarded his Wings on 29th May 1941 at 3 SFTS and on arrival in the UK he was posted to 27 OTU on 21st October 1941 and later to 460 Squadron on 9th May 1942. He began converting from Wellingtons to the larger four-engined bombers with 460 Squadron Conversion Flight on 25th August 1942 and later posted back to his parent unit.
Terence Harris was born on 4th July 1922 in Cottesloe, Western Australia. He enlisted in Perth.
Albert Brown was born on 4th November 1913 in Wellington, New South Wales. He enlisted in Sydney.
Keith Danks-Brown was born on 28th December 1915 in Mosman, New South Wales. He enlisted in Brisbane.
Jack Shuttleworth was born in West Oxford in 1920 and was living in Ingersoll, Ontario, Canada when he enlisted in June 1940. He began his first Tour with 460 Squadron on 19th May 1942 and flew with them until 22nd November 1942. On this date he was flying in Lancaster W4273 on Ops to Stuttgart, the aircraft was hit by flak and seriously damaged, his then pilot force landed the aircraft between Waucourt and Balātre Champien and all survived. Four would be captured and taken PoW but he and two others evaded capture and after crossing the Pyrenees he returned to the UK. This was the first Lancaster loss for 460 Squadron since they converted from Wellingtons. He was later posted to 138 Squadron for Special Duties and begun his second Tour on 10th December 1943. Having risen through the ranks to F/Lt he was recommended for the DFC on 16th July 1944 when he had flown forty nine operational flights. His DFC was granted and published in the London Gazette on 2nd October 1944 but there was no citation as such. The recommendation, as researched by Hugh Halliday, reads.. "An outstanding Bomb Aimer, this officer has played no small part in the successes achieved by his crew whilst engaged on operations of a special nature. His accuracy in obtaining pinpoints has been of great assistance to his navigator, and his skill in locating difficult targets is most commendable. He has displayedgreat courage and a high sense of devotion to duty throughout his tours of operations. As Squadron Bombing Leader, Flight Lieutenant Shuttleworth has also been of great help and assistance to new crews, and his tutoring has done much to increase the number of successful operations achieved by the squadron."
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