Lancaster DS829 damaged by flak, returned to East Moor airfield.
On the night of 28th / 29th January 1944 this 432 Squadron aircraft was flown on an operational flight to bomb Berlin and took off from East Moor at 00.30hrs. The crew released the bomb load from 22,500 feet at 03.20hrs but was hit by flak in the cockpit area over Germany with the pilot suffering facial cuts. The pilot was able to keep control and landed safely at East Moor at 08.07hrs.
Pilot - P/O Jack Esdale RAFVR (160680). Facial injuries.
Flight Engineer - Sgt Harry Ibbotson RAFVR (1624106).
Navigator - F/O Richard Kenneth D'Eye RAFVR (146686).
Bomb Aimer - F/Lt Ronald Habgood Hamer RAFVR (129000).
Wireless Operator / Air Gunner - F/Sgt Leonard Edward Garry Middleton RAFVR (1294748).
Air Gunner - Sgt John Peterson RAFVR (1567545).
Air Gunner - F/Sgt Albert Henry John Pidgeon RAFVR (1323819).
Second Pilot - F/Sgt Douglas Beverly Maddock RCAF (R/139269).
The incident detailed above was P/O Esdale's tenth and final operational flight with 432 Squadron, he was posted to another unit soon after this incident. He had received a commission on 26th October 1943 to the rank of P/O on probation (emergency) and rose to F/O (war subs) on 26th April 1944. F/O Jack Esdale was later posted to instructional duties with 1662 HCU in 1944. He was sadly killed on 2nd September 1944 whilst flying Halifax LL362 on an airtest when the aircraft developed a fault in the ailerons and the port outer engine also overheated. The aircraft crashed into tree tops close to Swanland, near Hull, Yorkshire. Sadly he and another member of his crew were killed. F/O Esdale is buried in Tottenham Cemetery, London.
John Peterson was later posted to 97 Squadron.
Richard D'eye received a commission on 23rd May 1943 to P/O on probation (emergency), he rose to F/O on probation (emergency) on 23rd November 1943 and F/Lt (war subs) on 23rd May 1945.
On 9th May 1944 P/O Harry Ibbotson was lost when Halifax LW594 of 432 Squadron was on Ops to Haine-St.-Pierre. The aircraft was shot down by a night-fighter and crashed at 03.32hrs at Grand Reng, Belgium. P/O Ibbotson is buried in Gosselies Communal Cemetery.
Ronald Hamer had joined the RAF well before the start of WW2 and flew a first tour of operations between July 1940 and March 1941 (squadron not yet known). He received a commission to the rank of P/O on probation on 7th August 1942. For service with 432 Squadron he was awarded the DFC, Gazetted on 14th November 1944.
Lancaster DS829 was built to contract ACFT/239 by Armstrong Whitworth Ltd at Baginton and was delivered directly to 426 Squadron at Linton on Ouse on 11th October 1943. It was transferred to 432 Squadron at East Moor on 15th November 1943. As a result of battle damage sustained on 29th January 1944 Cat.A/FB damage would have been the damage assessment with repairs on site completed in a couple of days. DS829 completed one further operational flight with 432 Squadron before it was transferred to 426 Squadron at Linton on Ouse on 9th February 1944 and carried the coding "OW-W". It was lost as Cat.E(m) on 16th March 1944 when it failed to return from Ops to Stuttgart. The aircraft was struck off charge on 21st March 1944.