Operation Ramrod 16

3 May 1943 — Amsterdam

Date
3 May 1943
Target
Amsterdam, Netherlands

Narrative

A daylight raid by No. 487 (New Zealand) Squadron against a power station on the outskirts of Amsterdam turned into one of the costliest small operations of the war. The Lockheed Venturas were intercepted by overwhelming fighter forces before reaching the target and were shot down almost to a man. Squadron Leader Leonard Trent pressed on regardless, bombed accurately and even shot down a Messerschmitt at close range before his own aircraft broke up; he and his navigator were thrown clear and survived as prisoners of war. The full story emerged only after the war, and Trent was awarded the Victoria Cross in 1946.

Order of battle

1 aircraft. Each crew links to the men who flew it; each airman to their own record.

AircraftTypeSquadronPilotCrewOutcome
AJ209
EG-V		 Lockheed Ventura Failed to return

The fallen

116 airmen in this archive died on 3 May 1943 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.

See all 116 who died on 3 May →

Source: Wikipedia — Leonard Trent →