Halifax EB275 damaged in the air, further damaged at Lissett airfield.
On the night of 2nd / 3rd August 1943 this 428 Squadron was to be used on an operational flight to bomb Hamburg. It took off from Middleton St.George airfield at 22.23hrs. Unfortunately outbound and over the North Sea either a coolant leak or a problem with the oil feeding the starboard outer engine saw the engine fail and then catch fire. The crew opted to abandon the flight, they jettisoned the bomb load live at 01.09hrs from 20,000 feet and turned around. There must have been a problem keeping the aircraft flying as the aircraft went to land at Lissett airfield at 02.25hrs but the undercarriage would not lower so a belly landing was made at 02.25hrs. The starboard outer engine may well still have been burning at the time of landing. It was thought probable that the flight engineer had forgotten to release the undercarriage manual up-locks stopping the undercarriage from lowering. The squadron records give the times listed above. The AM Form 1180 for the incident gives the time in the air as being 3.37 hours which does not match the time between taking-off and landing.
Pilot - F/Sgt W M Kruse RCAF (R/89906).
Navigator - P/O Alan Albert Champion Harris RCAF (J/9498).
Bomb Aimer - Sgt F S Wheeler RCAF (R/110182).
Flight Engineer - Sgt F J Moriarity RAFVR (1670697).
Wireless Operator / Air Gunner - Sgt Neville Pearson RAFVR (1212550).
Air Gunner - Sgt C N Mitchell RCAF (R/1622231).
Air Gunner - Sgt L A Bean RCAF (R/162633).
The AM Form 1180 for this incident states the aircraft to have been Halifax BB275 but this cannot be correct as BB275 was lost many months earlier. EB275 is given in the 428 Squadron records as being the aircraft. EB275 was with 428 Squadron at this time and was damaged in the days prior to 11th August 1943 when 60 MU began a repair on site to the aircraft.