On the night of 23rd / 24th May 1943 the crew of this 10 Squadron aircraft took off from Melbourne airfield at 22.40hrs to undertake an operational flight to bomb Dortmund. They reached the target area without incident and released the bomb load at 01.16hrs from 18,500 feet onto PFF target markers and fires created by earlier aircraft's bombs. At 01.55hrs and while flying at 16,000 feet four enemy aircraft were seen by the crew, the first of which, a Junkers Ju88, made an attack on the Halifax with cannon and machine gun fire. The Halifax's rear gunner returned fire and hit the Ju88 in the port engine, this aircraft was then seen to dive away on fire and was later claimed as a probably destroyed aircraft. The other three aircraft; two other Junkers Ju88s and an Me109, closed in to the Halifax but only one of the Ju88s made attacks with the rear gunner again returning fire each time. Damage resulted right across the Halifax; the fuselage, tailplane, rudders, starboard mainplane, the hydraulics and the port tyre were all damaged. Also the starboard outer engine was probably hit as it cut out at the time. remarkably none of the Halifax crew sustained injuries. The crew managed to fly the aircraft safely back to base and landed at Melbourne at 04.50hrs. The aircraft would later be repaired and passed to 1666 Heavy Conversion Unit only to crash on the North York Moors in 1944.
Pilot - Sgt Jack Watson RAFVR (1239046).
Navigator - Sgt Henry Charles William Nash RAFVR (1377535).
Bomb Aimer - Sgt William John McKay RAFVR (1391576).
Wireless Operator / Air Gunner - Sgt William George Brown RAFVR (1384984).
Air Gunner - Sgt Jack Edwin Lewis RCAF (R/139045).
Flight Engineer - Sgt Gerald Wilfred Rockwood RAF (339812). Of Newfoundland.
Air Gunner - Sgt Jack Sutcliffe RAFVR (1324374).
On 19th / 20th June 1943 all of the above were flying 10 Squadron Halifax JD109 on Ops to Le Creusot when the aircraft crashed in France. All were killed and are buried at Bretteville Sur Laize Canadian War Cemetery, France.
Halifax JD106 was built to contract ACFT/1808/C4 by The English Electric Company Ltd at Samlesbury and was delivered directly to 10 Squadron at Melbourne on 28th April 1943. On the night of 23rd / 24th May 1943 it sustained minor flak damage. This damage was initially assessed as Cat.A.FB but it was re-assessed on 27th May 1943 as being Re.Cat.B though was initially deemed repairable on site by a team from Handley Page. On 4th June 1943 it was re-assessed and deemed necessary to transport it to Handley Page's repair depot for a repair in works. Once the repair was complete it was passed to 44 M.U. on 26th January 1944 and was then taken on charge by 1666 Heavy Conversion Unit at Wombleton on 17th March 1944. On 27th April 1944 while awaiting clearance for take-off at Wombleton to undertake a training flight it was struck from behind by Halifax JB859 and the rear gunner of Halifax JD106, Sgt Ward Falan RCAF, was killed. Cat.A/FA damage was the assessment following inspection and it was repaired on site. It was returned to 1666 H.C.U. on 19th May 1944. Halifax JD106 continued to be used by 1666 H.C.U. and then on the night of 12th / 13th June 1944 it was being flown on a night cross country training flight when the one of the four engines caught fire in the air over North-East Scotland. The fire went out and the engine was shut down but another engine then suffered a coolant leak so the crew made a successful landing at Peterhead airfield without suffering further damage. The aircraft had an engine change at Peterhead and was flown back to Wombleton where it continued to be used by 1666 H.C.U.. On 23rd June 1944 it crashed on Rudland Rigg, around ten miles north of Wombleton on a training flight. The damage was assessed as being Cat.E2/FA(Burnt) and it was struck off charge on 30th June 1944.
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