Königsberg
29 August 1944 — Königsberg
- Date
- 29 August 1944
- Target
- Königsberg, Germany
Narrative
Königsberg, the capital of East Prussia and a supply port for the Eastern Front, lay at the extreme limit of a Lancaster’s range. On the night of 29/30 August 1944 No. 5 Group mounted a long, deep penetration to attack it. The veteran Lancaster ED588 ‘VN-G’ of No. 50 Squadron — one of the relatively few to have passed a hundred operations — was lost on the raid, shot down by a night-fighter over Sweden, an unusual interception so far from Germany; all seven of the crew were killed. The attack itself fell heavily on the old centre of the city.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ED588 VN-G |
Avro Lancaster | Failed to return |
The fallen
127 airmen in this archive died on 29 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.
- Flight Sergeant Thomas Adcock (24)
- Sergeant Christopher Alexander
- Flying Officer Thomas Baillie (24)
- Pilot Officer John Leslie Bairstow (25)
- Sergeant George Henry Barr (19)
- Warrant Officer Noel Charles Barrett (21)
- Flight Sergeant Ronald Lawrence Bayly (20)
- Warrant Officer John James Dew Bonfield (25)
- Flying Officer George Richard Bradley
- Flying Officer Alan John Brady (23)
- Sergeant George Brown
- Flying Officer Clare Reid Cameron
- Pilot Officer Henry William Tilson Carter (26)
- Flight Sergeant Alfred Reid Chalmers
- Flying Officer Robert Lloyd Chambers (21)
- Flying Officer Lloyd Edwin Chapman (24)
- Flight Lieutenant Edward Chatterton (26)
- Flying Officer Thomas Kenneth Clarke (21)
- Flight Sergeant John Louis De Vere Conolly (21)
- Flying Officer Frank Rene Malyon Cook (21)
- Flying Officer Gordon Daniel Danielson (21)
- Flying Officer George Walker Davidson (22)
- Sergeant Trevor Hugh Davis
- Lieutenant Dawber