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21/22 June, 1944; WESSELING:
There was nothing unusual about Wednesday 21 June, 1944; the
weather, as with previous days remained dull and the slight northerly
wind kept temperatures a little chilly. For aircrew the morning
passed slowly, whilst activity on the airfield indicated that
ops were on the menu for that evening. There had been no operations
for the past five days so just after lunch a small crowd had
gathered as an airman pinned up the Battle Order; twenty aircraft
were detailed with the main briefing at 20.00hrs. For those crews
listed, the usual pre-operational routine began, then later,
after a noisy meal in the Sgts' Mess and with coffee flasks filled,
crews walked or were ferried over to the main site for specialist
briefings and then the main briefing. The tape on the wall map
showed a route ending just below the Ruhr... Germany for a change.
A force of over 130 Lancasters from 5 Group was to attack the
synthetic-oil plant at Wesseling, 15 miles south of Cologne -
marking would be by 5 Group Mosquitoes using the 'Newhaven' method.
At 03.32hrs, combat exhausted 49 Squadron crews began landing
back at Fiskerton. Their opening remarks gave the first hints
of the disaster that had befallen the aircrew of 5 Group.
The experienced S/Ldr Leonard Cox and crew, were killed when
their Lancaster was brought down over Belgium; they are all buried
in the Antwerpen Cemetery.
Lancaster ME808 (EA-D)
S/L L.E. Cox Pilot (Killed)
F/O J.H.
Ingram F/E (Killed)
F/O
J.M. Freckleton DFM NAV (Killed)
F/O W. Mather DFM W/AG (Killed)
F/O W.E. Day A/G (Killed)
F/O M.
James DFC B/A (Killed)
F/O A. Hambly
A/G (Killed)
Crew on their 2nd operation with 49 Sqdn
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