Murdock, Billie Herman (Pilot Officer)
Killed in Action 1944-March-22
Birth Date: 1926
Born:
Parents: Albert O'Neil & Luella Gertrude Herman Murdock
Spouse:
Home: Windsor, Ontario (parents)
Enlistment:
Enlistment Date: unkown date
Service
RCAF
Unit
432 (B) Sqn- Squadron
Saeviter Ad Lucem Ferociously toward the light
Base
RAF East Moor
Rank
Pilot Officer
Position
Air Gunner
Service Numbers
J/88711
Prev: R/187931
Target
Frankfurt Germany
Canadian Virtual War Memorial
Library and Archives Canada Service Files (may not exist)Crew or Other Personnel
Halifax LW584
Mission
Halifax B/A.Mk.III LW584
Bombing Frankfurt Germany 1944-March-22 to 1944-March-22
(B) Sqn (RCAF) East Moor
Battle of Berlin
81(5.aircraft- 620 Lancasters, 184 Halifaxes, 12 Mosquitoes. Again, an indirect route was employed, this time crossing the Dutch coast north of the Zuider Zee and then flying almost due south to Frankfurt. This, and the Kiel minelaying diversion, confused the Germans for some time; Hannover was forecast as the main target. Only a few fighters eventually found the bomber stream. 33 aircraft - 26 Lancasters, 7 Halifaxes - were lost, 4·0 per cent of the force.
,p>The marking and bombing were accurate and Frankfurt suffered another heavy blow; the city's records show that the damage was even more severe than in the raid carried out 4 nights earlier. Half of the city was without gas, water and electricity 'for a long period'. All parts of the city were hit but the greatest weight of the attack fell in the western districts. The report particularly mentions severe damage to the industrial areas along the main road to Mainz. The report also has long lists of historic buildings, churches and hospitals destroyed and statistics for the destruction of property. Mention is made of 5 important and 26 lesser Nazi Party buildings hit. 948 people were killed, 346 seriously injured and 120,000 bombed out.162 B-17s of the Eighth Air Force used Frankfurt as a secondary target when they could not reach Schweinfurt 36 hours after this R.A.F. raid and caused further damage. The Frankfurt diary has this entry:
The three air raids of 18th, 22nd and 24th March were carried out by a combined plan of the British and American air forces and their combined effect was to deal the worst and most fateful blow of the war to Frankfurt, a blow which simply ended the existence of the Frankfurt which had been built up since the Middle Ages.*
One result of these heavy raids was that recently captured R.A.F. men often had to be protected by their guards from the assaults of angry civilians when they passed through Frankfurt to reach the nearby Oberursel interrogation and transit camp.
source: The Bomber Command War Diaries, Martin Middlebrook and Chris Everitt
Halifax aircraft LW 584 missing during a night trip to Frankfurt, Germany. F/O. D.H. Bailey, P/O.s D.A.Laird, D.J. O'Brien, C. Bertoia, B.H. Murdock, and Sgt. L.W. Denning (RAF) were killed. One Canadian, FS. W.B. Studnik, was taken Prisoner Of War. There were two 432 Squadron aircraft lost in the same area on this date. Please see F/L. D.E. Cawker for information regarding the other aircraft and crew.
Crashed near Langenberg, Germany, after exploding in mid air. Part came down in Bardel furniture factory and near railway station. Lone survivor was pilot, who came down by parachute in nearby Benteler.
Unit Desciption
432 (B) Sqn Saeviter Ad Lucem ("Leaside")
History of the Squadron during World War II (Aircraft: Wellington X, Lancaster II, Halifax III, VII)
The Squadron was the twelfth RCAF bomber squadron to be formed overseas in WWII. It was formed on May 1, 1943 at Skipton-on-Swale, Yorkshire, UK as a unit of No 6 (RCAF) Group of RAF Bomber Command: indeed, it was the first bomber squadron to be formed directly into No 6 Group. Using the squadron identification letters QO it flew Vickers Wellington Mk X medium bombers until it moved to East Moor, Yorkshire on 19th September 1943, when it re-equipped with Avro Lancaster Mk II aircraft. East Moor was part of No 62 (RCAF) Base. The squadron re-equipped with Handley Page Halifax Mk III aircraft in February 1944, and with Halifax Mk VII in July of that year, and continued with them until the squadron was disbanded at East Moor on May 15, 1945.
In the course of operations the squadron flew 246 missions, involving 3130 individual sorties, for the loss of 73 aircraft. 8980 tons of bombs were dropped. Awards to squadron members included 2 DSOs, 119 DFCs,1 Bar to DFC, 1 CGM, 20 DFMs and 1 Croix de Guerre (France). Battle Honours were: English Channel and North Sea 1943, Fortress Europe 1943-44, France and Germany 1944-45, Biscay Ports 1944, Ruhr 1943-45, Berlin 1943-44, German Ports 1943-45, Normandy 1944, Rhine, Biscay 1943.Moyes, Kostenuk and Griffin
Squadron History (Bomber Command Museum PDF)
Maps for Movements of 432 Squadron 1943-45
MAP 1: 432 Squadron Bases 1943-45 (marked in green). Right-click on image to display enlarged in new tab
432 Squadron History Summary 1943-45
History of the Squadron Post-WWII (Aircraft: Canuck)
The squadron was re-formed at Bagotville, Quebec as an All-Weather Fighter unit on 1 October 1954. The squadron flew Avro CF-100 Canuck aircraft on North American Air Defence until it was disbanded on 15 October 1961.
Halifax LW584 B/A.Mk.III - Bombing Frankfurt Germany - 1944-03-22 to 1944-03-22
Squadron: (B) Sqn (RCAF)
Start Date: 1944-03-22
Completion Date: 1944-03-22
Mission: Bombing
Operation: Battle of Berlin
Target City: Frankfurt Germany
Target Specific:
Base: East Moor
Take Off Time: 19.05
Squadron Code: QO Y
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 Group Unavailable
6 Group Unavailable
81(5.aircraft- 620 Lancasters, 184 Halifaxes, 12 Mosquitoes. Again, an indirect route was employed, this time crossing the Dutch coast north of the Zuider Zee and then flying almost due south to Frankfurt. This, and the Kiel minelaying diversion, confused the Germans for some time; Hannover was forecast as the main target. Only a few fighters eventually found the bomber stream. 33 aircraft - 26 Lancasters, 7 Halifaxes - were lost, 4·0 per cent of the force.
,p>The marking and bombing were accurate and Frankfurt suffered another heavy blow; the city's records show that the damage was even more severe than in the raid carried out 4 nights earlier. Half of the city was without gas, water and electricity 'for a long period'. All parts of the city were hit but the greatest weight of the attack fell in the western districts. The report particularly mentions severe damage to the industrial areas along the main road to Mainz. The report also has long lists of historic buildings, churches and hospitals destroyed and statistics for the destruction of property. Mention is made of 5 important and 26 lesser Nazi Party buildings hit. 948 people were killed, 346 seriously injured and 120,000 bombed out.162 B-17s of the Eighth Air Force used Frankfurt as a secondary target when they could not reach Schweinfurt 36 hours after this R.A.F. raid and caused further damage. The Frankfurt diary has this entry:
The three air raids of 18th, 22nd and 24th March were carried out by a combined plan of the British and American air forces and their combined effect was to deal the worst and most fateful blow of the war to Frankfurt, a blow which simply ended the existence of the Frankfurt which had been built up since the Middle Ages.*
One result of these heavy raids was that recently captured R.A.F. men often had to be protected by their guards from the assaults of angry civilians when they passed through Frankfurt to reach the nearby Oberursel interrogation and transit camp.
source: The Bomber Command War Diaries, Martin Middlebrook and Chris Everitt
Halifax aircraft LW 584 missing during a night trip to Frankfurt, Germany. F/O. D.H. Bailey, P/O.s D.A.Laird, D.J. O'Brien, C. Bertoia, B.H. Murdock, and Sgt. L.W. Denning (RAF) were killed. One Canadian, FS. W.B. Studnik, was taken Prisoner Of War. There were two 432 Squadron aircraft lost in the same area on this date. Please see F/L. D.E. Cawker for information regarding the other aircraft and crew.
Crashed near Langenberg, Germany, after exploding in mid air. Part came down in Bardel furniture factory and near railway station. Lone survivor was pilot, who came down by parachute in nearby Benteler.
