On the night of 28th / 29th March 1943 the crew of this 77 Squadron aircraft took off from Elvington to undertake an operational flight to bomb the docks at St.Nazaire, France. This aircraft was damaged by flak but the crew were able to land safely at Elvington at 02.01hrs.
Pilot - Sgt Robert Watson RAFVR (1561631).
Flight Engineer - Sgt Robert Cooper Mills Douglas RAF (611793).
Navigator - Sgt Andrew Peter Deighton RAFVR (1383346)
Bomb Aimer - Sgt John Burt Watt RAFVR (1349949).
Wireless Operator / Air Gunner - Sgt Thomas Pearson RAFVR (1123153).
Air Gunner - Sgt Anthony Luke RAFVR (1339381).
Air Gunner - Sgt Raymond Graham Hume RCAF (R/116029).
On 20th / 21st April 1943 all of the above were flying an operational flight together in Halifax HR714 (the same aircraft as slightly damaged a few days earlier) on Ops to Stettin when the aircraft crashed in Denmark with the loss of all on board. All are buried in Esbjerg (Fourfelt) Cemetery, Denmark.
Halifax DT736 was built to contract B.982938/39 by English Electric Co.Ltd. at Samlesbury. On 13th January 1943 it was taken on charge by 77 Squadron at Elvington. It sustained flak damage on 4th February 1943 (Cat.A/FB damage), 18th February 1943 (Cat.Ac/FB damage), 29th March 1943 (Cat.A/FB damage) and 29th June 1943 (Cat.A/FB damage) with repairs on site carried out each time at Elvington for minor damage. It was also very slightly damaged on 21st March 1943 while on a low level training flight after striking a tree between Croft and Topcliffe that saw a Cat.A/FA damage assessment and a repair on site was also made. The aircraft was transferred to 1652 Heavy Conversion Unit at Marston Moor on 4th August 1943. On 29th March 1944 it broke up in the air over Ayrshire while being flown on a training flight, sadly all on board were killed. Cat.E2/FA damage was recorded on the paperwork and the aircraft was written off. The aircraft was struck off charge on 15th April 1944.
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