Halifax DT787 damaged by flak, returned to Melbourne airfield.

In the early hours of 1st May 1943 this 10 Squadron aircraft left Melbourne airfield at 00.23hrs to undertake an operational flight to bomb Essen. The aircraft bombed the target area at 02.47hrs from 20,000 feet through thick cloud cover, around the of releasing their bomb load the aircraft received flak damage. No injuries resulted and the crew were able to bring the aircraft back to base and landed at Melbourne at 05.23hrs.

Pilot - Sgt Ernest Gordon Brown RAAF (406991).

Navigator - P/O Harold Luttrell Temple RAFVR (127971).

Bomb Aimer - Sgt Eric Charles Dobie RAFVR (1392728).

Wireless Operator / Air Gunner - Sgt Arthur Patrick Bowker RAFVR (1194726).

Air Gunner - Sgt Allen Sunley RAFVR (1302029).

Flight Engineer - Sgt W Sinclair. (Possibly William MacR Sinclair).

Air Gunner - Sgt William Richard Pallister RAF (627672), of Sheriff Hutton, North Yorkshire.

Halifax DT787 was built to contract B.982938/39 by English Electric Co.Ltd. at Samlesbury and was taken on charge by 10 Squadron at Melbourne on 2nd February 1943. As a result of battle damage sustained on 1st March 1943, 4th April 1943, 8th April 1943 and then on 1st May 1943 minor Cat.A/FB damage appears to have resulted each time with a repair on site being made each time. On 30th May 1943 the aircraft failed to return from Ops to Wuppertal with its then crew being killed. Cat.E(m) damage was recorded on the paperwork and it was written off. The aircraft was struck off charge on 31st May 1943.
All of the above apart from the flight engineer were later posted to 35 Squadron PFF and were flying together on 10th August 1943 in Halifax HR908 on Ops to Mannheim when the aircraft was shot down over Germany. Three of the crew survived but Temple, Bowker, Sunley and Pallister were killed and they are now buried in Rheinberg War Cemetery.

William Pallister was the son of William and Maud Mary Pallister of Sheriff Hutton, North Yorkshire. He was twenty three years old. He is one of my "local" casualties from the area in which I live. In time I will expand his biog shown here.

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