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1944-02-24 Flying Officer - Survived | |
Halifax B.Mk.III LK754 QOZ | 432 (B) Sqn (RCAF) |
Take-off: 18:25 | Target: Schweinfurt Germany |
Halifax B.Mk.III LK754Bombing Schweinfurt Germany 1944-February-24 to 1944-February-24
734 aircraft - 554 Lancasters, 169 Halifaxes, r r Mosquitoes - carried out the first Bomber Command raid on this target, home of Germany's main ball-bearing factor¬ies. 266 American B-r7s had raided the factories the previous day
Bomber Command introduced a novel tactic on this night. The Schweinfurt force was split into two parts - 392 aircraft and 342 aircraft, separated by a 2-hour interval. Part of the German fighter force was drawn up by earlier diversions. The first wave of the Schweinfurt bombers lost 22 aircraft, 5-6 per cent; the second wave lost only 11 aircraft, 3·2 per cent, and it is believed that only 4 bombers from the second wave were shot down by night fighters. Total losses were 33 aircraft - 26 Lancasters, 7 Halifaxes - 4·5 per cent of the force.Both phases of the bombing suffered from undershooting by some of the Pathfinder backers-up and by many of the Main Force crews. Schweinfurt records refer to 'nominal damage' in the R.A.F. night raid and give a combined figure of 362 people killed by the American raid the previous day and by this R.A.F. raid. No breakdown of this figure is available.
source: The Bomber Command War Diaries, Martin Middlebrook and Chris Everitt
Halifax BIII aircraft LK 754 QO-Z swung on take-off for a raid on the ball bearing factories in Schweinfurt, Germany and came to rest in the trees on the airfield perimeter. The crew escaped serious injury. This was this bomber's first operational sortie with 432 Squadron
Sgt JJ Barr (RCAF), F/O EK Reid (RCAF), 2nd Pilot FS A Clarke (RCAF), F/O JT Smith (RCAF), WO2 VC MacDonald (RCAF), FS GG Maguire (RCAF), Sgt RL Clarkson (RCAF) and Sgt JA May (RAF) all survived
Several from this crew would be shot down 1944-03-31 on 432 Squadron Halifax MZ 504 QO-C on a raid over Nuremberg, Germany
Aircraft accidents in Yorkshire
F/O EK Reid (RCAF) survived the accident, safe
F/O Reid would be killed in action 1944-03-31 on 432 Squadron Halifax MZ 504 QO-C on a raid to Nuremberg, Germany
Addendum: Halifax aircraft LK 754 was shot down and crashed on a railway line 4 miles north of Frankfurt, Germany. during night operations against Nuremberg - Germany. P/0 R.L Clarkson and Sgt. J.A. May (RAF) were also killed. Four Canadian members of the crew F/O. J.T. Smith, WO. V. C. MacDonald, FS. G. G. Maguire, and Sgt. J. J. Barr were taken Prisoners Of War.Others on the Aircraft
1944-02-24 RCAF Sergeant Joseph James Barr Survived 2022-11-161944-02-24 RCAF Pilot Officer Arthur Kenneth Clarke Survived 2024-02-26
1944-02-24 RCAF Warrant Officer II Vincent Charles MacDonald Survived 2022-11-16
1944-02-24 RCAF Flight Sergeant George Glen Maguire Survived 2022-11-16
1944-02-24 RAF Sergeant John Albert May Survived 2022-11-16
1944-02-24 RCAF Flying Officer James Talbot Smith Survived 2021-05-19