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21/22 January 1944 Lancaster Mk II - DS777 KO-C |
Shot down by a night fighter (Ju 88) and crashed in Magdeburg.
Source: 115 Squadron Roll of Honour by D. Bruce, W. R. Chorley, J. G. J. de Haan.
648 aircraft - 421 Lancasters, 224 Halifaxes, 3 Mosquitos - on the first major raid to Magdeburg.
The German controller again followed the progress of the bomber stream across the North Sea and
many night fighters were in the stream before it crossed the German coast.
The controller was very slow to identify Magdeburg as the target but this did not matter too much because
most of the night fighters
were able to stay in the bomber stream, a good example of the way the
Tame Boar tactics (Wilde Sau) were developing.
The heavy bomber casualties were not rewarded with a successful attack.
Some of the Main Force aircraft now had H2S and winds which were stronger than forecast brought some
of these into the target area
before the Pathfinders' Zero Hour.
The crews of 27 Main Force aircraft were anxious to bomb and did so before Zero Hour.
The Pathfinders blamed the fires started by this early bombing, together with some very effective German
decoy markers, for their failure
to concentrate the marking.
57 aircraft - 35 Halifaxes, 22 Lancasters - were lost, 8.8 per cent of the force;
it is probable that three quarters of the losses were caused by German night fighters.
The Halifax loss rate was 15.6 per cent!
Source: nationalarchives.gov.uk - Bomber Command - Campaign Diary January 1944.
ORB. 21st January, 1944.
22 aircraft were detailed to attack MAGDEBURG, but 8 failed to take off.
14 aircraft took off between 20.05 hours & 20.32 hours.
1 Failed to return from operations and no message were received.
The remaining aircraft identified the target by means of red & green markers on which they dropped
their bombs from heights
ranging between 19,000 feet and 22,000 feet.
A flash lasting 7 seconds & lighting up the cloud was seen 12 minutes after bombing; two large
explosions were observed 23.15 hours.
Scattered fires were seen when bombing but appeared to more concentrated when leaving target.
Photographs were attempted.
One aircraft
(S.D.S.833 - Captain F/S. MORRIS, A. - sustaining holes in starboard rudders & port petrol tank)
was hit by Flak over HANOVER.
(Y.D.S.734 - Captain P/O. G. G. HAMMOND - was unable to reach the target due to electrical equipment
being unserviceable so bombed HELMSTED)
03.25. 13 aircraft had returned safely to base after operations.
Moncrieff Edwin Douglas - Pilot
F/S - Service No 410168
Age: 25
RAAF
Son of Stephen and Anne Jane Moncrieff, of Balwyn, Victoria, Australia.
Runnymede Memorial - panel 261
Source: CWGC.
Luck C. - FE
Sgt - Service No 18118230
Age: - POW No 917 Luft 6.
RAFVR
Son of
Source: 115 Squadron Roll of Honour by D. Bruce, W. R. Chorley, J. G. J. de Haan.
Becker R. - Nav
F/S - Service No R152224
Age: - POW No 924
RAFVR
Son of
Source: 115 Squadron Roll of Honour by D. Bruce, W. R. Chorley, J. G. J. de Haan.
Baxter Kenneth William John - WOP
Sgt - Service No 1388976
Age: 20
RAFVR
Son of
Runnymede Memorial - panel 224
Source: CWGC - Photo via Find a grave, by Michel Beckers - daglish.
Davison A. - BA
F/S - Service No 423667
Age: - POW No 877 Stalag 357
RAAF
Son of
Source: 115 Squadron Roll of Honour by D. Bruce, W. R. Chorley, J. G. J. de Haan.
Sgt - Service No 1895713
Age: 29
RAFVR
Son of Joseph William and Mary Agnes Shelton,
of Worthing, Sussex.
Berlin 1939-1945 War Cemetery - grave 6. K. 2.
Source: CWGC - Find a grave by Uwe.
Sgt - Service No 1373580
Age: 20
RAFVR
Son of
Runnymede Memorial - panel 233
Source: CWGC.