Halifax HR726 damaged by flak, returned to Snaith airfield.

On the evening of 19th November 1943 the crew of this 51 Squadron aircraft took off from Snaith airfield at 16.30hrs for an operational flight to bomb Leverkusen but after believing they had seen pathfinding target markers over the target area they released their load over Duisberg instead of Leverkusen. The problem appears to have been that the aircraft was caught in flak for forty five minutes and in trying to evade the barrage the crew lost their exact position but after believing that they had seen target indicators they released the bomb load. The aircraft sustained flak damage while over Germany but they were able to fly the aircraft back to base of Snaith airfield and land safely at 22.08hrs. The aircraft was quickly repaired on site at Snaith.

Pilot - W/Co Christopher Louis Yser Wright RAF (33129).

Navigator - Sgt Alan Alfred Brandon RAFVR (1586424).

Bomb Aimer - Sgt Stanley Grognet RAFVR (1439837).

Wireless Operator / Air Gunner - P/O William Leslie Martin RAFVR (149911).

Flight Engineer - Sgt Alan Spurr RAFVR (1581551).

Air Gunner - Sgt Ronald Thorn RAF (649194).

Air Gunner - Sgt William Edward Pyne RAFVR (1890859).

On the night of 22nd / 23rd November 1943 this same crew were flying in the same Halifax HR726 on Ops to Berlin when the aircraft crashed in the general area of the Berlin. All Two of the crew baled out while five were killed, the five who died were buried at Doberitz but the post-war wargrave investigation team probably only mananged to identofy the grave of Sgt Spurr and he is now buried in Berlin War Cemetery, his death is recorded as having occurred on 22nd November 1943. The others have no known grave and are commemorated on the Runnymede Memorial and their deaths are presumed to have occurred on the 23rd November 1943. The date of 23rd November 1943, to me, seems incorrect as all other 51 Squadron aircraft were over the target area around 20.00hrs and then returned to Snaith had landed around 00.30hrs, had HR726 crashed in Germany after midnight on 23rd November 1943 it would been in the air over the target area for over four hours. With respect, I would suggest that everyone was killed on 22nd November 1943 and the assumption of death the following day is not correct.

Christopher Wright received a permanent commission to the rank of P/O on 28th July 1934 following training at Cranwell and was then posted to 4 Squadron (Army Co-operation). He would probably have risen to F/O in 1835 or 1936 but I have not located his promotion in the London Gazette. He rose to F/Lt on 28th January 1938, to S/Ldr on 1st January 1940 and to W/Co (temp) on 1st September 1941.

William Martin received a commission to the rank of P/O on probation on 15th July 1943. Postwar he remained in the RAF until March 1968.

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