Grave marker for Warrant Officer 1 Robert Moulton Photo Henk Butink
Moulton, Robert Benjamin (Warrant Officer 1st Class)
Killed in Action 1943-May-05
Birth Date: 1912-November-21
Born: Brockville, Ontario
Parents: Son of Benjamin Moulton and Sophrona Moulton, (nee McNamara). He had one sibling, a younger brother named Thomas Adrian Moulton, who served four months in The Netherlands with the Cameron Highlanders.
Spouse:
Home: Brockville, Ontario
Enlistment: Ottawa, Ontario
Enlistment Date: 1940-October-11
Service
RCAF
Unit
428 (B) Sqn- Squadron
Usque Ad Finem To the Very End
Base
RAF Dalton
Rank
Warrant Officer 1st Class
Position
Pilot
Service Numbers
R/74234
Canadian Virtual War Memorial
Library and Archives Canada Service Files (may not exist)Crew or Other Personnel
Wellington HE727
Mission
Wellington B. Mk. X HE727
Bombing Dortmund Germany 1943-May-05 to 1943-May-05
428 (B) Sqn (RCAF) RAF Dalton
On May 5, 1943, the Vickers Wellington NA-K HE 727 bomber crashed in Wilnis (now part of De Ronde Venen) in a field near what is now the roundabout at Mijdrechtse Dwarsweg-Ir. Enschedeweg. The Vickers Wellington was part of the 428 Ghost Squadron of the Royal Canadian Air Force and had taken off the day before with five crew members from Dalton Airfield in Graafschap Yorkshire, England.
The target was Dortmund. The attack on Dortmund was, at that time, the largest Allied air raid on a German city during World War II. A total of 596 bombers participated, 31 of which "failed to return." Of these, 31 bombers crashed in the Netherlands.
From a military perspective, the attack was successful. Reports indicate that the bombing caused severe damage to the city. More than 1,200 buildings were destroyed, and nearly 2,000 others were damaged, including factories of Hoesch and the Dortmund Union Steelworks. The bombing resulted in nearly 700 deaths, with around 200 prisoners of war who had been forced to work in the war industry among them. Almost 1,100 people were injured.
The Vickers Wellington was attacked on its return flight by a Messerschmitt Me-110, piloted by Hauptmann Hans-Dieter Frank. The bomber caught fire and lost altitude.
The pilot, Warrant Officer Class I Robert Moulton, ordered the crew to bail out. Navigator Flight Sergeant Gordon Carter and wireless operator/gunner Flight Sergeant Howard Hoddinott managed to parachute out and were taken as prisoners of war. They survived the war. It appears that pilot Robert Moulton attempted an emergency landing to prevent the burning aircraft from crashing into the village of Wilnis. About one kilometer north of the village, the aircraft hit the ground and quickly disappeared almost entirely into the soft peat soil. Although Flight Sergeant Hoddinott was handed a parachute, pilot Robert Moulton did not survive the crash. Bomb aimer/gunner Flight Sergeant Joseph White and rear gunner Flight Sergeant Adrien Thibaudeau also lost their lives and were declared missing.
During a recovery operation in September 2002, the Royal Netherlands Air Force and the Army Identification Service found the mortal remains of the three missing crew members. They were identified, and a military burial followed, with three individual graves at the Dutch Reformed Cemetery in Wilnis.
The recovery of the three crew members was initiated by the Vickers Wellington 1943 Recovery Foundation in Mijdrecht. The process took seven years, including legal procedures and research.
2019 / Mr. Jan C.K. van Loo
Chairman of the Vickers Wellington 1943 Recovery Foundation
About the crew of the Vickers Wellington HE727Unit Desciption
428 (B) Sqn Usque Ad Finem ("Ghost")
History of the Squadron during World War II (Aircraft: Wellington III, X, Halifax V, II, Lancaster X)
No 428 Squadron was the ninth long-range heavy bomber squadron and the 26th RCAF squadron formed overseas during the Second World War. It was formed at RAF Dalton in Yorkshire, England 
on November 7, 1942. The squadron was initially assigned to No. 4 Group RAF Bomber Command. With the creation of No. 6 Group RCAF, the squadron was reallocated on January 1, 1943 operating with it until April 25, 1945.
The squadron was originally equipped with Vickers Wellington Mk III and X, and its first operational mission was on January 26–27, 1943, when five Wellingtons bombed the U-Boat base at Lorient in Brittany, on the Bay of Biscay. In the early part of June 1943, the squadron moved to RAF Middleton St. George, Durham where it remained for the remainder of the war. Around this time the squadron was converted to Handley Page Halifaxes (Mk Vs, and later supplemented by Mk II Series IIA). In January 1944, Halifax bombers from No. 428 Squadron participated in the first high-level mining raid "Gardening", when mines were dropped by parachute from 15,000 feet (4,570 m) over Brest on 4/5 Jan and Saint-Nazaire on 6/7 Jan 1944. The squadron flew its last sortie with the Halifax on June 12, 1944 then converted to the Canadian-built Avro Lancaster Mk X, the first sortie taking place on June 14, 1944.
For the final phase of the air campaign against Germany, the squadron took part in day and night raids, with its last operational sortie taking place on April 25, 1945, when 15 Lancasters bombed anti-aircraft gun batteries defending the mouth of the Weser, on the Frisian Island of Wangerooge. The squadron remained in service in the United Kingdom until the end of May 1945, then flew to Yarmouth, Nova Scotia . The squadron was intended to be part of the "Tiger Force" to carry on the war against Japan, but the Japanese surrender led to the disbandment of the force. The squadron was therefore disbanded at Yarmouth in September 1945.
In the course of WWII operations, the squadron flew 283 missions involving 3467 individual sorties. 84 aircraft were lost and a total of 9378 tons of bombs were dropped. the aircrew earned 2 DSO's, 71 DFC's, 2 CGM's and 6 DFM's. Battle Honours were: English Channel and North Sea 1943-44, Baltic 1944, Fortress Europe 1943-44, France and Germany 1944-45, Biscay Ports 1943-44, Ruhr 1943-45, Berlin 1943-44, German Ports 1943-45, Normandy 1944, Rhine, Biscay 1943-44. Wikipedia, Kostenuk and Griffin
Squadron History (Bomber Command Museum PDF)
Maps for Movements of 428 Squadron 1942-45
MAP 1: 428 Squadron Bases 1942-45 (marked in green). Right-click on image to display enlarged in new tab
428 Squadron History Summary 1942-45
History of the Squadron Post-WWII (Aircraft: Canuck)
The squadron was re-activated as the fifth Avro Canada CF-100 Canuck equipped squadron, on June 21, 1954, at RCAF Station Uplands as 428 All-Weather (Fighter) Squadron. It was re-activated, as one of nine Canadian based RCAF squadrons, to be operating under the new RCAF Air Defence Command, protecting North American airspace from Soviet intruders and long range bombers. The squadron was finally disbanded on 1 June 1961.
Wellington HE727 B. Mk. X - Bombing Dortmund Germany - 1943-05-05 to 1943-05-05
Squadron: 428 (B) Sqn (RCAF)
Start Date: 1943-05-05
Completion Date: 1943-05-05
Mission: Bombing
Operation: unspecified
Target City: Dortmund Germany
Target Specific:
Base: RAF Dalton
Take Off Time: 22:34:00
Squadron Code: NA-K
Radio Code:
Return Base:
Return Time:
Crash City:
Crash Specifics:
Crash Latitude: 0.00000000
Crash Longitude: 0.00000000
Crash Reason:
Flak Battery:
Enemy Claim:
War Diary Unavailable
6 Bomber Group May 5, 1943
3 Wellingtons from 426 and 429 Squadrons were ordered out on a sea search. All crews returned safely, but unsuccessful. Richard Koval (6bombergroup.ca)
On May 5, 1943, the Vickers Wellington NA-K HE 727 bomber crashed in Wilnis (now part of De Ronde Venen) in a field near what is now the roundabout at Mijdrechtse Dwarsweg-Ir. Enschedeweg. The Vickers Wellington was part of the 428 Ghost Squadron of the Royal Canadian Air Force and had taken off the day before with five crew members from Dalton Airfield in Graafschap Yorkshire, England.
The target was Dortmund. The attack on Dortmund was, at that time, the largest Allied air raid on a German city during World War II. A total of 596 bombers participated, 31 of which "failed to return." Of these, 31 bombers crashed in the Netherlands.
From a military perspective, the attack was successful. Reports indicate that the bombing caused severe damage to the city. More than 1,200 buildings were destroyed, and nearly 2,000 others were damaged, including factories of Hoesch and the Dortmund Union Steelworks. The bombing resulted in nearly 700 deaths, with around 200 prisoners of war who had been forced to work in the war industry among them. Almost 1,100 people were injured.
The Vickers Wellington was attacked on its return flight by a Messerschmitt Me-110, piloted by Hauptmann Hans-Dieter Frank. The bomber caught fire and lost altitude.
The pilot, Warrant Officer Class I Robert Moulton, ordered the crew to bail out. Navigator Flight Sergeant Gordon Carter and wireless operator/gunner Flight Sergeant Howard Hoddinott managed to parachute out and were taken as prisoners of war. They survived the war. It appears that pilot Robert Moulton attempted an emergency landing to prevent the burning aircraft from crashing into the village of Wilnis. About one kilometer north of the village, the aircraft hit the ground and quickly disappeared almost entirely into the soft peat soil. Although Flight Sergeant Hoddinott was handed a parachute, pilot Robert Moulton did not survive the crash. Bomb aimer/gunner Flight Sergeant Joseph White and rear gunner Flight Sergeant Adrien Thibaudeau also lost their lives and were declared missing.
During a recovery operation in September 2002, the Royal Netherlands Air Force and the Army Identification Service found the mortal remains of the three missing crew members. They were identified, and a military burial followed, with three individual graves at the Dutch Reformed Cemetery in Wilnis.
The recovery of the three crew members was initiated by the Vickers Wellington 1943 Recovery Foundation in Mijdrecht. The process took seven years, including legal procedures and research.
2019 / Mr. Jan C.K. van Loo
Chairman of the Vickers Wellington 1943 Recovery Foundation