Halifax MZ680 damaged in the air, landed at Holme on Spalding Moor airfield.
On the evening of 1st February 1945 this 76 Squadron aircraft undertook an operational flight to bomb Mainz. The crew took off from Holme on Spalding Moor at 15.59hrs and released their bomb load over the target at 19.38hrs from 18,500 feet. On the flight home the starboard inner engine burst into flames. The pilot successfully shut down the engine and feathered the propeller. The Graviner fire extinguisher system was switched on but this did not entirely put out the flames, as they then made their way back to Yorkshire the flames went out. Despite the damage the crew flew back to Holme on Spalding Moor and landed safely at 23.03hrs.
An RCAF press release dated 6th April 1945 referred to this incident and stated that just after bombing Mainz the pilot had his most hair-raising experience: "A direct enemy hit smashed one of the cylinders and set one of the engines on fire. The automatic extinguisher wouldn't halt the blaze and Bateman dived his big aircraft 5,000 feet before the flames blew out. Bateman made the three-and-a-half hour trip back to base on the remaining three engines. None of the crew were injured." RCAF photo PL-42063 dated circa 20th February 1945 has following caption: "With Canadians flying in the RAF. F/L W.M. Bateman of Nashville, Tennessee, was snapped by an RCAF cameraman just after he returned from the bombing of Mainz when one of the engines of his Halifax bomber was rendered useless by flak. Bateman was just turning his aircraft after bombing when a jagged fragment of flak knocked out one of the cylinders of his port inner engine and set it on fire. A series of dives blew out the blaze and he flew his heavy aircraft for three and a half hours on three engines to bring it safely back to base." There is an AM Form 1180 for this incident and they were not created for flak incidents, the Form 1180 states the engine fire resulted from a piston seizure.
Pilot - F/Lt William Maxwell Bateman RCAF (J/26116).
Bomb Aimer - F/O C L Warden RCAF (J/28884).
Navigator - F/O E R Coffin RCAF (J/35821).
Wireless Operator / Air Gunner - P/O G A Kirkey RCAF (J/92706).
Air Gunner - Sgt P O Prior RAFVR (1880257).
Flight Engineer - Sgt R Gartshore RAF (635413).
Air Gunner - Sgt J J Miller RAFVR (2211350).