Kendall, R D R (Sergeant)

Prisoner of War 1945-March-24

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Service

RCAF

Unit

166 (B) Sqn- Squadron (RAF)
Tenacity

Base

Rank

Sergeant

Position

Service Numbers

Target
Google MapHarpenerweg Germany

Took off from Kirmington at 12:55 in Lancaster Mk I (Sqn code: AS-S Bomber Command) to bomb the Harpenweg benzol plant..

Crashed E of the Rhine into Arecaseadlieng Strasse at Hilden some 12 km SSE from the centre of Dusseldorf.

Six were killed in the crash: Flying Officer Charles Albert Henri Francois Defraigne RAF Pilot KIA Brussels Town Cemetery Belgium. Flying Officer Thomas Henry Howell RAF KIA Reichswald Forest War Cemetery Joint grave 1. E. 14. Flight Sergeant John Ward Inman RCAF R/219755 KIA Reichswald Forest War Cemetery 1. E. 17. Flying Officer John Ross Mearns RAF KIA Reichswald Forest War Cemetery 1. E. 16. Sergeant Frederick William Mitchell RAF KIA Reichswald Forest War Cemetery Joint grave 1. E. 14. Flying Officer Stephen Pascal RCAF J/41525 KIA Reichswald Forest War Cemetery. Kendall was the only survivor

Unit Desciption

166 (B) Sqn Tenacity (Huddersfield's Own)

No 166 Squadron RAF was originally formed at Bircham Newton, Norfolk on June 13, 1918, designed as a heavy bomber unit, to fly the Handley Page V/1500 aircraft. The squadron was never fully mobilized because the Armistice intervened. The squadron was re-formed in November 1936 as a heavy bomber unit, flying Handley Page Heyfords, later equipping with Armstrong Whitworth Whitleys. It was based at Boscombe Down, Wiltshire from November 1936 to January 1937, when it moved to Leconfield, Yorkshire. The squadron became part of an air observer's school on June 7, 1938, and then became a 1 Group pool squadron in May 1939. From September 1939 it was based at Abingdon, Berkshire until April 1940. In that month the squadron merged with no. 97 Squadron to form No. 10 OTU.

In January 1943 the squadron was re-formed at Kirmington, Yorkshire (53.578,-0.344, now Humberside Airport), from flights of Nos. 150 and 170 squadrons, when parts of these squadrons were posted to the Middle East. It was again bomber squadron, flying Vickers Wellingtons in No. 1 Group of Bomber Command. It remained at Kirmington until the end of WWII, later re-equipping with Avro Lancasters. In the period 27/28 January 1943 and 25 April 1945, it dropped 27,287 tons of bombs and laid 333 tons of mines. The squadron won "at least" 2 DSOs, 2 CGMs, 117 DFCs and 108 DFMs in the course of WWII. The squadron was disbanded on November 18, 1945.