Harris, John Frederick (Flying Officer)
Killed in Action 1943-March-29
Birth Date: 1913
Born: Swindon, Swindon Unitary Authority, Wiltshire, England
Parents: Son of George and Ada Harris
Spouse: Husband of Mary Elizabeth Harris of Swindon Wiltshire
Home: Cardiff, Wales
Enlistment:
Enlistment Date: unkown date
Service
RAFVR
Unit
218 (B) Sqn- Squadron (RAF)
In Time
Base
RAF Downham Market
Rank
Flying Officer
Position
Pilot
Service Numbers
118128
Cardiff, Wales
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
Finadagrave.comCrew or Other Personnel
Stirling BK716
Mission
Stirling Mk. lll BK716
Bombing Berlin Germany 1943-March-29 to 1943-March-29
218 (B) Sqn (RAF) RAF Downham Market
218 Gold Coast Squadron (In Time), RAF Downham Market. Stirling Mk III aircraft BK 716 HA-J was shot down by night fighter crew of Leutnant Werner Rapp and Unteroffizier Hans Ortmann of 7/NJG1 during on an operation against targets in Berlin Germany. The bomber crashed into Lake IJsselmeer near Marken, Noord-Holland, Netherlands
Flying Officer Harry Gregory Farrington (RCAF), Flight Sergeant John Francis James McCaw (RCAF), Sergeant Charles Armstrong Bell (RAFVR), Flying Officer John Michael Campbell (RAFVR), Flying Officer John Frederick Harris (RAFVR) and Sergeant Leonard Richard James Shrubsall (RAFVR) were all missing, presumed killed in action. No crew remains were originally recovered and they were all commemorated on the Runnymede Memorial. However, in 2008 the wreckage of an aircraft was found. A cigarette case belonging to Flying Officer Campbell helped identify the aircraft to be identified but it was not until August 2020, that the remains of the seven crewmembers and their aircraft could begin to be recovered. After multiple problems and delays, the crew were finally buried with a full military service September 28, 2022 at the Commonwealth War Graves Commission Jonkerbos War Cemetery in Nijmegen, Gelderland, Netherlands
Nachtjagd Combat Archives 1943 Part 1, 1 January - 22 June by Theo Boiten, page 52
The Night of the Stirling by Evert van Ginkel
From St Vith to Victory, 218 (Gold Coast) Squadron and the Campaign Against Nazi Germany by Stephen C Smith, pages 142,291, 296-315
Flying Officer Farrington and Flight Sergeant McCaw
Stirling BK716 crew finally laid to rest I RAF Memorial Flight Club
Royal Air Force Serial and Image Database
29/30 03 1943 218 (Gold Coast) Squadron Stirling III BK716 HA J Fg...
In Time The Loss and Recovery of a Short Stirling Crew
Recovering Stirling BK716: The WWII Secret Beneath the Mud -YouTube
Stirling BK716 Mk. lll - Bombing Berlin Germany - 1943-03-29 to 1943-03-29
Squadron: 218 (B) Sqn (RAF)
Start Date: 1943-03-29
Completion Date: 1943-03-29
Mission: Bombing
Operation: unspecified
Target City: Berlin Germany
Target Specific:
Base: RAF Downham Market
Take Off Time: 21:30:00
Squadron Code: HA-J
Radio Code:
Return Base:
Return Time:
Crash City: Lake IJsselmeer
Crash Specifics: near Marken, Noord-Holland, Netherlands
Crash Latitude: 0.00000000
Crash Longitude: 0.00000000
Crash Reason: fighter
Flak Battery:
Enemy Claim: Leutnant Werner Rapp and Unteroffizier Hans Ortmann of 7/NJG1
War Diary Unavailable
6 Group Unavailable
6 Group Unavailable
218 Gold Coast Squadron (In Time), RAF Downham Market. Stirling Mk III aircraft BK 716 HA-J was shot down by night fighter crew of Leutnant Werner Rapp and Unteroffizier Hans Ortmann of 7/NJG1 during on an operation against targets in Berlin Germany. The bomber crashed into Lake IJsselmeer near Marken, Noord-Holland, Netherlands
Flying Officer Harry Gregory Farrington (RCAF), Flight Sergeant John Francis James McCaw (RCAF), Sergeant Charles Armstrong Bell (RAFVR), Flying Officer John Michael Campbell (RAFVR), Flying Officer John Frederick Harris (RAFVR) and Sergeant Leonard Richard James Shrubsall (RAFVR) were all missing, presumed killed in action. No crew remains were originally recovered and they were all commemorated on the Runnymede Memorial. However, in 2008 the wreckage of an aircraft was found. A cigarette case belonging to Flying Officer Campbell helped identify the aircraft to be identified but it was not until August 2020, that the remains of the seven crewmembers and their aircraft could begin to be recovered. After multiple problems and delays, the crew were finally buried with a full military service September 28, 2022 at the Commonwealth War Graves Commission Jonkerbos War Cemetery in Nijmegen, Gelderland, Netherlands
Nachtjagd Combat Archives 1943 Part 1, 1 January - 22 June by Theo Boiten, page 52
The Night of the Stirling by Evert van Ginkel
From St Vith to Victory, 218 (Gold Coast) Squadron and the Campaign Against Nazi Germany by Stephen C Smith, pages 142,291, 296-315
Flying Officer Farrington and Flight Sergeant McCaw
Stirling BK716 crew finally laid to rest I RAF Memorial Flight Club
Royal Air Force Serial and Image Database
29/30 03 1943 218 (Gold Coast) Squadron Stirling III BK716 HA J Fg...
In Time The Loss and Recovery of a Short Stirling Crew
Recovering Stirling BK716: The WWII Secret Beneath the Mud -YouTube