Guestbook Entry - Stirling BK817

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K4KittyCrew
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Guestbook Entry - Stirling BK817

Post by K4KittyCrew »

Stirling BK817 Information

To Ernst,

From Chorleys RAF Bomber Command Losses 1943 ...................

Type Stirling
Serial Number BK817
Squadron 75
X1D AA-B
Operation D_sseldorf
Date 1 11th June 1943
Date 2 12th June 1943

Further Information

"Serial Range BK798 - BK818. 21 Stirling Mk.111. Part of a batch of 150 Short S.29 Stirling Mk.1/111. BK592-BK628; BK644-BK647 (41) Mk.1; BK648-BK667; BK686-BK727; BK759-BK784; BK798- BK818 (109) Mk.111. Delivered by Austin Motors Ltd between Apr43 and Jun43. Contract No.B982939/39. Delivered to No.75 Sqdn 2May43. Airborne 2348 11Jun43 from Newmarket. Shot down by a night-fighter (Oblt Wilhelm Telge, Stab.11./NJG1) and crashed 0135 at Frodthier (Li_ge), 10 km N of Verviers, Belgium. Those killed are buried in Heverlee War Cemetery. S/L Laud came from Campbell's Bay in New Zealand and had joined the RAF just prior to the outbreak of war. S/L R.H.Laud KIA Sgt J.H.Russell KIA Sgt A.R.Waite KIA Sgt H.S.Mulholland KIA F/S T.Whatmough KIA Sgt F.J.Hawkins KIA Sgt M.K.Matthews PoW Sgt M.K.Matthews was interned in Camps L6/357, PoW No.211. 'Air Battle of the Ruhr', A.Cooper, records F/S T.Whatmough as F/S R.Watmough "

From Royal Air Force Bomber Command 60th Anniversary site ..............

Campaign Diary
June 1943

11/12 June 1943

Düsseldorf: 783 aircraft - 326 Lancasters, 202 Halifaxes, 143 Wellingtons, 99 Stirlings, 13 Mosquitos. The Pathfinder marking plan proceeded excellently until an Oboe Mosquito inadvertently released a load of target indicators 14 miles north-east of the target area. This caused part of the Main Force to waste its bombs on open country. But the main bombing caused extensive damage in the centre of Düsseldorf, where 130 acres were claimed as destroyed, and this proved to be the most damaging raid of the war for this city. 38 aircraft - 14 Lancasters, 12 Halifaxes, 10 Wellingtons, 2 Stirlings - lost, 4.9 per cent of the force.

Münster: 72 aircraft - 29 Lancasters, 22 Halifaxes, 21 Stirlings - were dispatched on an interesting raid. All the aircraft were provided by No 8 Group and it was really a mass H2S trial. 33 of the aircraft carried markers or flares, the remaining aircraft acting as the bombing force, although the marker aircraft also bombed. The marking and bombing were very accurate and the whole raid lasted less than 10 minutes. Photographic reconnaissance showed that much damage was done to railway installations in Münster as well as to housing areas. Unfortunately the raid was expensive for the small force involved; 5 aircraft - 2 Halifaxes, 2 Lancasters and 1 Stirling - were lost, 6.9 per cent of the aircraft involved.

3 Mosquitos to Duisburg and 2 to Cologne, 23 OTU sorties to France. 1 OTU Wellington was lost.
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Hope these details are of some help.
John
K for Kitty Crew - Winthorpe, 1661 HCU's - stirlingaircraftsoc.raf38group.org/
630 Squadron - East Kirkby
" There is nothing glorious about war with the exception of those who served us so valiantly"
Oggie2620
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Re: Guestbook Entry - Stirling BK817

Post by Oggie2620 »

Please contact me and I will give you contact details for the UK and NZ Assn secretaries.
Dee
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