Halifax JD166 damaged by flak, returned to Melbourne airfield.

On the night of 22nd / 23rd June 1943 the crew of this 10 Squadron aircraft took off from Melbourne airfield at 23.24hrs to undertake an operational flight to bomb Mulheim. They bombed the target area at 01.52hrs from 19,000 feet on the PFF target markers but after leaving the target area the aircraft received minor flak damage to the starboard inner engine radiator. Despite the damage the crew managed to make the return to base and landed at Melbourne at 03.51hrs.

Pilot - Sgt Reginald Robinson Dixon RAFVR (1542980).

Navigator - Sgt John Lewis Brown RAF (658828).

Bomb Aimer - Sgt Herbert Gracey RAFVR (1528125).

Wireless Operator / Air Gunner - Sgt S V Harris RAFVR (1130017).

Air Gunner - Sgt Frederick Charles Perrett RAFVR (1586043).

Flight Engineer - Sgt T Shaw.

Air Gunner - Sgt Henry Alfred Paul RAFVR (1320130).

All apart from Sgt Shaw were flying with 10 Squadron on 21st January 1944 in Halifax HX165 on Ops to Magdeburg when the aircraft crashed in Germany. Brown and Harris became PoWs while everyone else was killed and they are buried at Hannover War Cemetery. Reginald Dixon was later awaded the DFC for service with 10 Squadron.

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