Wellington HE906 damaged by flak, returned to Croft airfield.
On the night of 16th / 17th April 1943 this 427 Squadron aircraft was slightly damaged by flak during an operational flight to Mannheim but the crew managed to return to Croft and land safely at 04.49hrs having taken off at 21.15hrs the previous evening.
Pilot - Sgt James Douglas Hamilton RCAF (R/102390), of Kenaston, Saskatchewan, Canada.
Navigator - Sgt John Joseph Reansbury RCAF (R/90121), of Brantford, Ontario, Canada.
Wireless Operator / Air Gunner - Sgt Norman Geoffrey Whiting RAFVR (1199977), of Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, England.
Bomb Aimer - Sgt Gerald David Sharp RAF (629132), of Marnhull, Dorset, England.
Air Gunner - Sgt Gordon Louis Tyrone RCAF (R/147160), of Memphis, Tennessee, USA.
James Hamilton was born on 19th August 1920 in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada and enlisted into the RCAF in Regina in May 1941. After basic training in Canada he was posted to the UK and trained at 3 (P)AFU and 22 OTU before posting to 427 Squadron in 1943. He and the others named above later converted to flying Halifaxes and continued their tour with 427 Squadron. They died on the night of 22nd / 23rd June 1943 when Halifax DK141 was shot down by a night fighter over Holland on Ops to Mulheim. They are now buried Bergen Op Zoom Cemetery, Holland. A memorial was erected on the crash site in 2013.
Wellington HE906 was built to contract B.124362/40 by Vickers Armstrong's Ltd. at Hawarden and was taken on charge by 427 Squadron at Croft on 5th April 1943. It received minor battle damage on 17th April 1943 that saw a damage assessment of Cat.A/FB made and a repair on site carried out. On 2nd May 1943 the aircraft was transferred to 432 Squadron at Skipton on Swale where it carried the unit code "QO-H". On 3rd August 1943 it failed to return from an operational flight to hamburg that saw it's crew of five be killed. Cat.E(m) damage was recorded on the paperwork and it was struck off charge on 31st August 1943, it had clocked up a total of 133 hours flying time.