Veldwezelt
12 May 1940 — Veldwezelt
- Date
- 12 May 1940
- Target
- Veldwezelt, Belgium
Narrative
On the third day of the German invasion of the West, No. 12 Squadron was ordered to destroy the bridges the Wehrmacht had seized over the Albert Canal in Belgium. Volunteers were called for and every crew stepped forward; five Fairey Battles were sent against the bridges at Veldwezelt and Vroenhoven in a near-suicidal low-level run through massed light flak. Flying Officer Donald Garland led the section that pressed home the attack on the Veldwezelt bridge and damaged its western end, but his Battle and most of the others were shot down. Garland and his navigator, Sergeant Thomas Gray, were each awarded a posthumous Victoria Cross — the first won by the Royal Air Force in the war.
Order of battle
1 aircraft. Each crew links to the men who flew it; each airman to their own record.
| Aircraft | Type | Squadron | Pilot | Crew | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P2204 PH-K |
Fairey Battle | Donald Edward Garland | 1 aircrew → | Failed to return |
The fallen
104 airmen in this archive died on 12 May 1940 or the day that followed. For a raid of this kind these are overwhelmingly the night's losses, though a death-date match is not by itself proof an individual flew this operation.
- Flying Officer Wilfred Sydney Charles Adams (33)
- Sergeant William John Anning (26)
- Sergeant Thomas Todd Atchison (23)
- Sergeant Douglas John Avent
- Sergeant Thomas Roy Barker
- Flying Officer Thomas George Bassett (22)
- Pilot Officer Frederick Sidney Bazalgette (22)
- Flying Officer Charlie Bellis
- Aircraftman 2nd Class Leslie Askham Berridge (22)
- Aircraftman 2nd Class Robert Frederick John Bowie (19)
- Leading Aircraftman John Stuart Mee Bromley (24)
- Flying Officer John Roland Brown (21)
- Leading Aircraftman Arthur Christopher Burgess (22)
- Flying Officer John Alexander Campbell (27)
- Pilot Officer Ian Campbell-irons
- Leading Aircraftman William Timothy Cavanagh (22)
- Pilot Officer Croyden Jelfs Edinborough Chamberlain (20)
- Pilot Officer Gordon Emery Chandler (20)
- Leading Aircraftman Charles Colby Child (20)
- Sergeant Harry Ian Child
- Sergeant Ronald Henry Claxton (24)
- Aircraftman 2nd Class Ronald William Coles (18)
- Leading Aircraftman Ernest William Laurie Cooper (20)
- Sergeant George Frederick Couzens (26)
See all 104 who died on 12 May →
Source: Wikipedia — Thomas Gray (VC) →