6 Group Unavailable
Lancaster PB523
Took off at from Little Staughton at 10:29 for an operation to Köln, Germany.
Out-bound crashed at Opitter (Limburg), 4 km SE of Bree Belgium.
The aircraft withstood a series of fighter attacks, but with the aircraft ablaze Flight Lieutenant Thomas was obliged to give the order to bale out. Four of his crew got out and survived; a fifth, the Flight Engineer Flt Sergeant Hobbs, also made it clear but his chute cruelly failed to open. Thomas stayed at the controls with one of the wounded gunners, Warrant Officer Tex Campbell RCAF. Neither made it home. Fg Off Vaughan RCAF was captured on 23 December 1944 near Krefeld. Fg Off William Ewart Vaughan RCAF - PoW/Dulag Luft Oberursel/Dulag Luft Wetzlar Stalag Luft 1 Barth Vogelsang/PoW Number? Plt Off Campbell was initially buried in Opitter Roman Catholic Cemetery Belgium. Reinterred 30 November 1945. Sergeant Fallon initially reported injured and POW was subsequently reported "Safe in the UK".
