Crew of Halifax JD420
Halifax JD420 coded VR-D took off at 17:45 for Magdeburg. The pilot Sgt. Hawkes altered course near Bremen to avoid know flak
concentrations, but the aircraft was picked up by enemy radar which produced a flak burst near the
Halifax. The Navigator F/S Fletcher was killed instantly by the burst. W/O McDevitt checked Fletcher
for live signs and found none. The Pilot was also wounded in the right arm and he was unable to fully control the aircraft
on his own. F/E Sgt. Board had to feather
the port outer engine as Hawkes was unable to do it him self. The inner port engine began to overheat and also had to be
feathered. With the radio out and almost no control left on the aircraft the pilot called for a bail out. F/O Houison
was wounded in one shoulder and was unable to move for a short period of time. Sgt. Bowman the upper gunner
had escaped injury but was captured along with the remainder of the survivng crew members. W/O Barnes
ended up landing in an 8 foot ditch of dirty water.
Barnes had been creditied with shooting down two enemy aircraft and driving off other enemy attacks on past missions, this was his 26th sortie.
The C.O. of 419 at the time W/C Pleasance had written a letter to his family praising him for his efforts. Original photos copyright Glenbow Archives please respect that.
