Halifax NA583 damaged in the air, returned to East Moor airfield.
On 14th October 1944 432 Squadron and 415 Squadron supplied aircraft for two raids on Duisburg, one during the day and the second overnight of 14th / 15th October. 415 Squadron supplied seventeen for the first and twenty for the second. Halifax NA583 took part in the first and returned without damage, on the second a different crew were using it and bombed the objective after taking off from East Moor at around 22.20hrs. Upon landing at East Moor around 04.00hrs a large hole was found in the bomb doors which suggested that a 1,000 pound bomb had passed through it.
Pilot - F/O Stanley Harold McFaddon RCAF (J/28542).
Navigator - F/O Neil Connor RCAF (J/38183).
Bomb Aimer - P/O Ronald Blau RAFVR (185499).
Wireless Operator / Air Gunner - P/O James Armitage Rinder RCAF (C/95465).
Air Gunner - Sgt James Thomas Clarke RCAF (R/212923).
Air Gunner - Sgt Fred Thompson Graves RCAF (R/223805).
Air Gunner - Sgt J C McLean RCAF (R/274622).
Flight Engineer - Sgt Joseph J Burton RAFVR (1827826).
The photograph shows Stanley "Bob" McFaddon's regular crew and found on the superb website at "http://www.fliegerschicksale.de/homepage3/startseite_en.php". Left to right are: Connor, Burton, Clarke, McFadden, Rinder, Graves and Rhind. It was initially supplied by Tim Castle (grandson of P/O Rinder) to Michael Burton.
I thank the flight engineer's son Mr Michael Burton for contacting me in February 2011 and again in March 2013 and for updating the full crew list shown above. On the night of 5th/6th January 1945 many of those named above were flying Halifax MZ476 and failed to return from Ops to Hannover. Sadly Rinder and Clarke died but McFadden, Burton and Graves baled out and became PoW's. F/O Connor left the aircraft but struck a rotating propeller which badly injured his left leg which was later amputated, he was hospitalised and later repatriated in April 1945. The three who died are buried in Sage War Cemetery, Germany.
James Rinder was born on 23rd January 1920, he was the son of Frank Owen and Edith Myrtle Rinder, of Outremont, Province of Quebec, Canada; He was married in Surrey, England in 1942 and his wife was living in East Didsbury, Manchester when he died, he was twenty four years old.
James Clarke was born on 8th June 1924. Nothing more about his service is known. Searching the US 1940 census it is possible that a likely entry for his is that he was born in Canada and was living with his parents in 1940 in Wilmette, Illinois.
Halifax NA583 was built to contract ACFT/891 by Fairey Aviation Ltd at Stockport and was taken on charge by 420 Squadron at Tholthorpe on 16th July 1944. It was immediately transferred to 415 Squadron at East Moor sustained two flak incidents in August 1944, one on 5th August 1944 with Cat.A/FB damage being the likely assessment and the other on 15th August 1944 that saw a Cat.Ac/FB damage assessment. The repair for the second was made on site at East Moor with it complete by 28th August 1944. On 14th October 1944 it was again slightly damaged on Ops but when a 1,000 lb bomb fell through the bomb doors. Cat.A/Fb damage would again have been the damage assessment with a repair on site carried out. On 2nd November 1944 it failed to return from Dusseldorf. Cat.Em damage was the damage assessment and it was struck off charge on 15th November 1944.
Ronald Blau was not a regular in this crew, he received his commission on 11th September 1944 to the rank of P/O on probation (emergency). He was promoted to F/O (war subs) on 11th March 1945. He remained in the RAFVR post-War and rose to F/Lt on 11th March 1948. He relinquished his commission on appointment to the RAF on 7th May 1951 and having dropped a rank he rose again to F/Lt on 26th April 1953. He retired on 28th November 1961.