6 Bomber Group March 26/27, 1943
30 Halifaxes from 405, 408, and 419 Squadrons were joined by 86 Wellingtons from 420, 424, 425, 426, 427, 428, 429, and 431 Squadrons on an attack at Duisberg. The crews were over the target at between 14,000 and 20,000 feet, releasing 192,000 lbs of high explosives and 225,000 lbs of incendiaries. According to reports, the target was cloud covered and the attack was scattered. Richard Koval (6bombergroup.ca)
455 aircraft- 173 Wellingtons, 157 Lancasters, 114 Halifaxes, 9 Mosquitoes, 2 Stirl-: ings. 6 aircraft - 3 Wellingtons, I Halifax, 1 Lancaster, 1 Mosquito - lost, 1·3 per cent of the force. The Mosquito lost was the first Oboe Mosquito casualty. A message. was received from the pilot, Flight Lieutenant L. J. Ackland, that he was having to ditch in the North Sea. His body was never found but his navigator, Warrant Officer F. S. Sprouts, is believed to have survived.
source: The Bomber Command War Diaries, Martin Middlebrook and Chris Everitt
This raid was one of the few failures of this series of attacks on Ruhr targets. It was a cloudy night and, for once, accurate Oboe sky-marking was lacking because 5 Oboe Mosquitoes were forced to return early with technical difficulties and a sixth was lost. The result was a widely scattered raid. The only details reported from Duisburg were 15 houses destroyed and 70 damaged, with II people killed and 36 injured.
Failed to return from attack on Duisberg on 26 / 27 March 1943, no survivors. Believed to have crashed in the North Sea. The 5 fatalities included pilot Flight Lieutenant G. Eades, RAFVR, a published poet and playwright, on the first mission of his second tour. One crew member washed ashore in Sweden. May have been shot down by Halifax of 51 Squadron, but this is not confirmed.
