Warrant Officer 2nd Class Patterson was safe, back in the UK 1945-05-30
Footprints on the Sands of Time, RAF Bomber Command Prisoners of War in Germany 1939-45 by Oliver Clutton-Brock, page 378Patterson, George Walter (Warrant Officer 2)
Prisoner of War 1943-August-24
Birth Date: unkown date
Born:
Parents:
Spouse:
Home: Campbellton, New Brunswick
Enlistment:
Enlistment Date: unkown date
Service
RCAF
Unit
428 (B) Sqn- Squadron
Usque Ad Finem To the Very End
Base
RAF Middleton St George
Rank
Warrant Officer 2
Position
Flight Engineer
Service Numbers
R/62847
PoW: 22627
Crew or Other Personnel
Halifax DK267
Mission
Halifax B/Met.Mk.V DK267
Bombing 1943-August-23 to 1943-August-24
428 (B) Sqn (RCAF) RAF Middleton St George
428 Ghost Squadron, (Usque ad Finem) RAF Middleton St George. Halifax BV aircraft DK 267 NA-H was most likely attacked by a night fighter over Berlin, killing one crew member. Four other crew bail safely from the Halifax and were captured. The Pilot was badly injured but continued to fly his aircraft in the company of his Bomb Aimer, heading north until the Halifax was abandoned near Annelov, Sweden, where the last two crew survived and became Interned Prisoners in Sweden
The Wireless Operator/Air Gunner C E Crampton (RAFVR) was killed action in the fighter attack on the bomber
Warrant Officer 1st Class L S Bates (RCAF), Warrant Officer 1st Class W S Kerr (RCAF), Warrant Officer 2nd Class G W Patterson (RCAF) and Sergeant J Taylor (RAFVR) all safely bailed while still over Germany and all survived to become Prisoners of War
Flight Sergeant H A Read (RCAF) badly wounded and Flying Officer J J McQuade (RCAF) abandoned their damaged aircraft safely over Sweden and became Interned Prisoners
Unit 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.
Halifax DK267 B/Met.Mk.V - Bombing - 1943-08-23 to 1943-08-24
Squadron: 428 (B) Sqn (RCAF)
Start Date: 1943-08-23
Completion Date: 1943-08-24
Mission: Bombing
Operation: unspecified
Target City:
Target Specific:
Base: RAF Middleton St George
Take Off Time: 20:25:00
Squadron Code:
Radio Code:
Return Base:
Return Time:
Crash City: Sweden
Crash Specifics: near Annelov
Crash Latitude: 0.00000000
Crash Longitude: 0.00000000
Crash Reason: fighter
Flak Battery:
Enemy Claim: unspecified
War Diary Unavailable
6 Bomber Group August 23/24, 1943
59 Halifaxes from 419, 427, 428, and 434 squadrons were joined by 8 Lancasters from 426 squadron on an attack at Berlin. The crews were over the target at between 18,000 and 22,000 feet, releasing 130,000 lbs of high explosives and 126,000 lbs of incendiaries. According to reports, this attack was successful with serious damage being caused in some industrial areas.
While most of the crews went to Berlin, 12 Wellingtons from 432 squadron were ordered on a mining operation to the Frisian Islands. The crews were over the garden between 4,000 and 6,000 feet, sowing 10@1500 lb mines. Richard Koval (6bombergroup.ca)
428 Ghost Squadron, (Usque ad Finem) RAF Middleton St George. Halifax BV aircraft DK 267 NA-H was most likely attacked by a night fighter over Berlin, killing one crew member. Four other crew bail safely from the Halifax and were captured. The Pilot was badly injured but continued to fly his aircraft in the company of his Bomb Aimer, heading north until the Halifax was abandoned near Annelov, Sweden, where the last two crew survived and became Interned Prisoners in Sweden
The Wireless Operator/Air Gunner C E Crampton (RAFVR) was killed action in the fighter attack on the bomber
Warrant Officer 1st Class L S Bates (RCAF), Warrant Officer 1st Class W S Kerr (RCAF), Warrant Officer 2nd Class G W Patterson (RCAF) and Sergeant J Taylor (RAFVR) all safely bailed while still over Germany and all survived to become Prisoners of War
Flight Sergeant H A Read (RCAF) badly wounded and Flying Officer J J McQuade (RCAF) abandoned their damaged aircraft safely over Sweden and became Interned Prisoners
Royal Air Force Serial and Image Database