Halifax HR838 damaged by flak, returned to Snaith airfield.
This aircraft took off from Snaith at 23.22hrs on 12th June 1943 to undertake an operational flight to bomb Bochum. The crew bombed from 18,000ft at 01.29hrs. The aircraft was hit by flak and received damage to the fuselage and the fuel line to the port inner engine was severed. The crew were able to bring the aircraft safely back to base and landed at Snaith in the early hours of 13th June 1943 at 04.28hrs. The aircraft had sustained minor flak damage the night before this one and was patched up at Snaith, it was again repaired at Snaith and used by the same crew again on the evening of 19th June 1943 for Ops to Le Creusot.
Pilot - WO Robert Ernest Leeper RAFVR (745427).
Navigator - Sgt R C Harris (1167598).
Bomb Aimer - Sgt John Alfred Weller RAFVR (1320172)
Wireless Operator - P/O James Wellman Bibby RAFVR (144264).
Flight Engineer - Sgt D H McKenzie (577361)
Air Gunner - Sgt Alfred Norman Gott RCAF (R/137499), of Port Coquitlam, British Columbia, Canada.
Air Gunner - Sgt James Steven Campbell RCAF (R/82146), of Renfrew, Ontario, Canada.
WO Robert Leeper received his commission after his death to the rank of P/O on probation (emergency)(155018) on 4th August 1943. He is buried in Durnbach War Cemetery.
John Weller received his commission after he was made a PoW but with effect from 18th July 1943 (155101). He rose through F/O and F/Lt while a PoW and remained in the RAF until 7th April 1955.
On the night of 11th August 1943 Leeper, Harris, MacKenzie, Weller and Campbell were flying this aircraft when it crashed in Germany. Sadly WO Leeper died but the rest of his then crew survived and became PoWs.
WO2 Alfred Gott was still with 51 Squadron when he was killed on 20th December 1943 when Halifax HR948 was hit by flak on Ops to Frankfurt. He died as a result of this and
he too is buried in Durnbach War Cemetery. He was twenty five years old.
James Wellman-Bibby received his commission to the rank of P/O on probation (emergency) on 6th April 1943. He was posted to the famous 617 Squadron on 2nd July 1943 joining P/O B W Clayton's crew (made famous for the Dambusters). He left 617 Squadron on 14th February 1944 on posting to 16 OTU. He was promoted to F/O on 6th October 1943 and to F/Lt on 6th April 1945. After the war he became an actor and appeared in a number of television shows including Star Trek and Mission:Impossible. In 2000 he was awarded the MBE for services to Theatrebarn in Worcestershire.