Trossy-st-maximin
4 August 1944 — Trossy-st-maximin
- Date
- 4 August 1944
- Target
- Trossy-st-maximin, France
Narrative
On 4 August 1944 the Pathfinders of No. 635 Squadron were sent to mark a V-1 flying-bomb storage site at Trossy-St-Maximin for the main force. Squadron Leader Ian Bazalgette’s Lancaster was hit by flak on the run-in and set ablaze, with two engines gone and two crewmen too badly wounded to jump. He pressed on and marked the target accurately, then ordered the rest of the crew out and tried to land the burning aircraft to save the two wounded men. It exploded as it touched down, killing all three. Bazalgette was awarded a posthumous Victoria Cross.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ND811 F2-T |
Avro Lancaster | Ian Willoughby Bazalgette | 1 aircrew → | Failed to return |
The fallen
67 airmen in this archive died on 4 August 1944 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.
- Pilot Officer George Logan Allan (27)
- Flying Officer Charles Edward Anderson
- Pilot Officer Joseph Edmond Bailey (34)
- Squadron Leader Ian Willoughby Bazalgette (25)
- Flight Sergeant Charles Alec Beanland
- Pilot Officer John Beebar (22)
- Flight Sergeant Alexander Bennett (29)
- Flight Lieutenant Robert Walter Beveridge (24)
- Flying Officer Ian Armstrong Blaikie (26)
- Flight Lieutenant Arnold Raymond Blynn
- Pilot Officer Ernest George Boucher (21)
- Air Vice Marshal Owen Tudor Boyd (54)
- Pilot Officer Lowell Milton Brehaut (21)
- Sergeant Norman Joseph Brightwell (21)
- Flying Officer Harold Leonard Brown (20)
- Pilot Officer Raymond Glen Bruegeman (22)
- Pilot Officer George Alfred Chapman (24)
- Sergeant James Robert Clarke
- Flight Sergeant Robert Francis Coffey (22)
- Flying Officer Walter William Cooper (32)
- Flying Officer Albert Edwin Crellin (30)
- Flying Officer Patrick Edmund Cronin (23)
- Wing Commander John Sidney Dunlevie (29)
- Flying Officer John Walter Benson Earle (28)
See all 67 who died on 4 August →
Source: Wikipedia — Ian Bazalgette →