Wellington HF514 damaged by flak, returned to East Moor airfield.
On the night of 2nd / 3rd August 1943 this aircraft was flying as part of the last major 429 Squadron operational flight out of East Moor before their move of airfields, the target on this night was to bomb Hamburg. Wellington HF514 took off at 23.29hrs but was hit by flak and it suffered damage to the fuselage and tail plane but the pilot was able to safely bring the aircraft home and land at East Moor at 05.43hrs. 429 Squadron flew a mine laying flight the night after this one and then began their moved to Leeming airfield.
Pilot - Sgt Fayette Williams Brown George Hingston RCAF (J/18885), of Montreal, Province of Quebec, Canada.
Navigator - F/O Howard MacNair Brown RCAF (J/13077), of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada.
Bomb Aimer - F/Sgt John Campbell Lochhead RAFVR (1361506), of Paisey, Renfrewshire.
Wireless Operator / Air Gunner - Sgt John Richard Williams RAFVR (1029717), of Llanllyfni, Caernarvonshire.
Rear Gunner - Sgt J R Vilim RCAF, of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.
Fayette Hingston was born on 6th May 1918 to Harold Ramsay and Elizabeth Leighton Hingston, of Montreal, Province of Quebec, Canada. He attended an Arts course at the McGill University and after graduating with a B.A. he worked for the Aluminium Company of Canada before enlisting into the RCAF in September 1941. He received his commission in November 1943.
P/O Hingston, Sgt Williams and F/Sgt Lochhead were killed in action on 4th December 1943 flying Halifax JD361 of 429 Squadron when it was shot down on Ops to Leipzig. It crashed at Wittenmoor, near Stendal. P/O Hingston was twenty five years old and is buried in Berlin War Cemetery. Sgt Williams and F/Sgt Lochhead were with him on this night but their bodies were either never recovered or their burial locations remain unknown and their names are inscribed on the Runnymede Memorial. F/O Brown was also on the aircraft and he became a PoW.
The then F/Sgt Vilim was posted out to 1659 HCU on 30th November 1943 having arrived at 429 Squadron from 23 OTU on 27th May 1943. Nothing more is known about him.
Wellington HF514 was built to contract B124362/40 by Vickers Armstrong's at Chester and was delivered for MU acceptance in mid-May 1943. It was immediately issued to 429 Squadron at East Moor where this Cat.B/FB damage was recorded on 3rd August 1943 and it had completed sixteen operational flights with 429 Squadron by this date. From here it was taken away and repaired in works and on completion of the repairs it was issued to 82 OTU at Ossington in September 1943. The aircraft then went into MU storage before being issued to BCIS at Finningley in December 1944. It was written off with Cat.E2/FA damage on 21st March 1945 when an engine cut and the aircraft made a forced landing at Worksop airfield.