Halifax LW473 at Burn airfield.

On the night of 20th / 21st February 1945 the crew of this 578 Squadron aircraft undertook an operational flight to bomb the Rhenania Ossag oil refinery target at Reisholz in the Dusseldorf area. They took off from Burn airfield at 21.42hrs and released their bomb load at 01.32hrs from 17,000 feet over target indicators over the target owing to thick cloud that obscured the view. The flight appears to have gone without incident, poor visibility effected their landing and they landed off the runway at Burn airfield at 04.24hrs, a tyre burst on landing and the undercarriage collapsed.

Pilot - Acting F/Lt Gordon Oswald Powell RAFVR (176370).

Navigator - P/O James Ernest Frank Sadler RAFVR (187020).

Bomb Aimer - F/Sgt D A Bradbury RAFVR (1580785).

Wireless Operator / Air Gunner - F/Sgt J C E Toft RAFVR (1270713).

Flight Engineer - Sgt J M Thornber RAFVR (2203726).

Air Gunner - F/Sgt F Blunstone RAFVR (2229281).

Air Gunner - Sgt Stanley Alan Gilbert RAFVR (2211368).