Halifax MZ531 damaged in the air, (probably) landed at Holme on Spalding Moor airfield.
On the night of 22nd / 23rd April 1944 this 76 Squadron aircraft was used to flying an operational flight to bomb Dusseldorf and took off from Holme on Spalding Moor airfield at 22.40hrs. The crew released their bomb load from 19,500 feet at 01.19hrs. At around the time of releasing their bomb load their aircraft was struck by falling 30lb incendiary bombs dropped by a higher flying aircraft. The crew may have thought this was infact flak damage as the squadron records list both the friendly bomb damage and also flak damage to the rear of a port nacelle. Despite the damage the crew flew back to Yorkshire and landed at 03.21hrs almost certainly at Holme on Spalding Moor airfield. The only concern I have about the landing location is that this aircraft was the first of all the 76 Squadron aircraft to land on the return, it could be they were given a priority landing, or they landed elsewhere / nearer the coast. The AM Form 1180 for this incident appears to state (but is hard to read) that the crew had a problem in lowering the port undercarriage leg fully on landing, this undercarriage leg cannot have collapsed as the aircraft did not block the Holme on Spalding Moor runway nor were any engines on the aircraft damaged that would generally occur should a leg collapse.
Pilot - F/Sgt Ronald Hazeldine Catlow RAFVR (1548619).
Air Bomber - F/O Alan John Robson RAFVR (151903).
Navigator - Sgt J E Lee RAFVR (1801583).
Wireless Operator / Air Gunner - Sgt A H Gregory RAFVR (1339354).
Air Gunner - Sgt C J Chesworth RAFVR (2209594).
Flight Engineer - Sgt A J Stratton.
Air Gunner - Sgt J Cundall.