ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 170571
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| Date: | Wednesday 21 April 1943 |
| Time: | 02:26 |
| Type: |  Handley Page Halifax Mk II |
| Owner/operator: | 102 (Ceylon) Sqn RAF |
| Registration: | HR712 |
| MSN: | |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 5 / Occupants: 7 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | Store Bælt near Slipshavn -
 Denmark
|
| Phase: | Combat |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | RAF Pocklington, North Yorkshire |
Halifax B.II HR712 ("DY-M") of 102 (Ceylon) Squadron, RAF, one of two No.102 Squadron Halifaxes lost on this operation. Airborne 21:34 20.4.1943 from RAF Pocklington, Yorkshire. Shot down by Flak and crashed 02:26 some 1,500 metres off the Slipshavn at Nyborg, Denmark. The aircraft was homebound from Stettin.
102 Sqn. was flying Handley Page Halifax II bombers from Pocklington, Yorkshire on 20/21 April 1943. 339 aircraft - 194 Lancasters, 134 Halifaxes, 11 Stirlings - ordered to attack Stettin. This raid, on a target more than 600 miles from England, proved to be the most successful attack beyond the range of OBOE (ECM) during the Battle of the Ruhr. Visibility was good and the Pathfinder marking was carried out perfectly. 24 fires were still burning when a photographic reconnaissance aircraft flew over Stettin a day and a half later. 21 aircraft - 13 Lancasters,
7 Halifaxes, 1 Stirling - lost, 6.2 per cent of the force.
Five of the seven crew of HR712 were lost on combat operations. The two survivors were picked up by a launch, shortly after the Halifax sank in about 150 feet of water. Crew of Halifax HR712 were:
Crew:-
Pilot : Sergeant Peter Russell Olliver RAF 1294744 [PoW]
Flight Engineer : Sergeant George Simpson Meldrum RAF 547356 [PoW]
Navigator : Sergeant George Lewis Doidge RAFVR 1336841 [Killed]
Bomb Aimer : Sergeant Alexander Felix Warner RAFVR 1318828 [Killed]
Wireless Operator : Warrant Officer Class II Gordon Harold Bartman RCAF R/103506 : Commission Gazetted Friday 12 September, 1941) [Killed]
Mid-Upper Gunner : Sergeant Frank William Day RAFVR 1447790 [Killed]
Rear Gunner : Sergeant James Bolton McMillan Irving RAFVR 1342405 [Killed]
On 3.5.1943 three bodies were retrieved from the crashed aircraft 1,550 metres off Slipshavn by the Danish salvage ship “Absalon” and brought to the Marine station at Slipshavn where they were handed over to the Wehrmacht. It was the bodies of Sgt Frank W. Day, W/O Gordon H. Bartman RCAF and Sgt James B.M. Irving who were all laid to rest in Nyborg cemetery. On 5.5.1943 the body of Sgt Alexander F. Warner was found in the Store Bælt and brought to the Marine station in Slipshavn by MS Nordmark and also laid to rest in Nyborg cemetery.
Sgt G.S.Meldrum was interned in Camps L1/L6/357, as a PoW No.1084 with Sgt P.R.Olliver, PoW NO.1086.
Sources:
1. http://www.flensted.eu.com/19430032.shtml
2. http://www.alresfordhistandlit.co.uk/NOT%20JUST%20A%20NAME%2017%20Website.pdf
3. http://www.airmen.dk/p159.htm
4. https://www.flightglobal.com/FlightPDFArchive/1943/1943%20-%201724.PDF
5. Rob Davis Bomber Command Losses Database
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 22-Oct-2014 15:20 | gerard57 | Added |
| 09-Mar-2017 01:48 | Dr.John Smith | Updated [Time, Registration, Operator, Total fatalities, Location, Country, Departure airport, Source, Narrative] |
| 09-Mar-2017 01:53 | Dr.John Smith | Updated [Aircraft type, Source, Narrative] |
| 20-Apr-2018 20:30 | TigerTimon | Updated [Operator, Other fatalities, Location, Departure airport, Narrative] |
| 15-Oct-2018 14:29 | Nepa | Updated [Operator, Operator] |
| 16-Oct-2018 18:35 | Nepa | Updated [Operator, Operator] |
| 20-Apr-2024 11:10 | Rob Davis | Updated [Source, Narrative] |
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