Halifax JB852 damaged by flak, returned to Elvington airfield.
On the night of 3rd / 4th April 1943 the crew of this 77 Squadron aircraft were undertaking an operational flight to bomb Essen
and took from Elvington at 16.53hrs. They bombed the target area at 18.000ft using the PFF marking but did not observe their own bombing result. The aircraft was hit by flak while over the target but the crew were able to make a safe return to base and landed at Elvington at 00.37hrs. Twelve holes were found in the aircraft.
Pilot - F/O Dennis Percival Puddephatt RAFVR (136541).
Flight Engineer - Sgt Melvin John Halls Brookes RAF (574090).
Navigator - Sgt John Iorwerth Palmer Morgan RAFVR (1338378).
Bomb Aimer - Sgt Lawrence William Bolton RAFVR (1391746).
Wireless Operator - Sgt George Samuel Walton RAFVR (1380500).
Air Gunner - Sgt Eric Fedi RCAF (R/172702), of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.
Air Gunner - Sgt Ronald Alfred Halestrap RAFVR (1464887).
Dennis Puddephatt was born in the Brentford area of Middlesex in 1917. He must have joined the RAFVR in the early years of the war, when he received his commission on 1st May 1942 to the rank of P/O on probation (emergency) he was in the rank of Warrant Officer. He was promoted to F/O (war subs) on 1st November 1942. He underwent conversion training at 1658 at Riccall and while there he was the pilot of Halifax DT510 that crashed on landing on 12th March 1943, part of his crew listed above may well have been the same in DT510. After completing his conversion training course he was posted to 77 Squadron.
All of the above with the exception of Sgt Fedi were flying Ops to Bochum in Halifax JB892 on 13th/14th May 1943 when the aircraft was shot down by a night fighter. All are buried in Sleen General Cemetery, Holland. Brookes and Halestrap were 21 years old, Walton was 27 years old. The ages of the others are not known.
Sgt Eric Fedi was still flying with 77 Squadron when he was killed on 7th September 1943 while flying Ops to Munich in Halifax DT793, the aircraft failed to return to base and was lost without trace. His body was never found and he is commemorated on the Runnymede Memorial. At the age of seventeen years old he was one of the youngest members of aircrew in the RCAF to be killed in the whole of the war. He was born on 3rd March 1926, Moore Park, Manitoba, Canada. He lied about his age to enlist into the RCAF; he forged my Grandmothers signature and a friend helped to falsify his birth certificate which claimed he was born two years earlier. His mother went along with his wish but believed that he would not go overseas.
Halifax JB852 was built to contract ACFT/1808/C4 by English Electric Co.Ltd. at Samlesbury and was taken on charge by 77 Squadron at Elvington on 10th March 1943.
It sustained flak damage on 4th April 1943 that saw a damage assessment of Cat.A/FB which was repaired on site. The aircraft received further battle damage on 27th April 1943 and again Cat.A/FB damage was the assessment. It was repaired on site and returned to 77 Squadron on 7th May 1943. On 28th May 1943 it received battle damage that saw Cat.A/FB damage be the damage assessment. It was again repaired on site and returned to 77 Squadron. On 12th June 1943 it again received battle damage that saw Cat.A/FB damage be the damage assessment. On 22nd June 1943 it failed to return from an operational flight to bomb Krefeld. Cat.E(m) damage was the damage assessment and it was struck off charge on 30th June 1943 having flown a total of 110 hours flying time.