Wellington HE212 damaged by flak, returned to Leconfield.
On the night of 12th / 13th March 1943 the crew of this 466 Squadron aircraft were tasked with flying an operational flight to bomb Essen and left Leconfield at 19.34hrs. The crew dropped their bombs over the target area at 21.31hrs from 17,000 feet but the aircraft sustained flak damage. The pilot was able to make a safe return to Leconfield and land at 00.46hrs. This exact crew had suffered flak damage over the same target exactly a week earlier.
Pilot - Sgt Henry Simon Raoul Lloyd RAFVR (1334109).
Bomb Aimer - Sgt Anthony Vyvian Harper RAFVR (1319319).
Navigator - Sgt William Roy Hendon RAFVR (1166713).
Wireless Operator / Air Gunner - Sgt Sydney Charles Luke RAFVR (1380482).
Air Gunner - Sgt William James Blundell RAFVR (1380227).
Wellington HE212 was built to contract B.124362/40 by Vickers Armstrong's Ltd, at Hawarden. It was received by 18 MU on 13th December 1942 and was taken on charge by 466 Squadron at Driffield on 22nd December 1942. 466 Squadron moved to Leconfield on 27th December 1942. As a result of battle damage sustained on 13th March 1943 minor Cat.A/FB damage would have been the damage assessment but there is no reference to this on the aircraft's AM Form 78. It would have been repaired on site. On 30th May 1943 it failed to return from an operational flight to Wuppertal, the five crew were killed when the aircraft crashed in Belgium. Cat.E(m) damage was recorded on the aircraft's paperwork. It had flown just over 223 hours in total to that date.
Henry Lloyd, Anthony Harper and William Hendon all received commissions on 24th April 1943, but the London Gazette only printed the notifications after their deaths as all of those listed above were killed on 30th May 1943 while flying 466 Squadron Wellington HE212 on Ops to Wuppertal, the aircraft was shot down by a night-fighter. P/O Lloyd and P/O Harper were both twenty one years old, P/O Hendon and Sgt Luke were twenty two years old and Sgt Blundell was just nineteen. All are buried in Brussels Town Cemetery, Belgium. Since the crash a memorial has been erected on the crash site.