Cologne
23 December 1944 — Cologne
- Date
- 23 December 1944
- Target
- Cologne, Germany
- Force dispatched
- 30 aircraft
Narrative
On 23 December 1944, in support of the fighting in the Ardennes, a small Pathfinder force of twenty-seven Lancasters and three Mosquitoes was sent on a daylight Oboe-led attack on the Gremberg marshalling yards at Cologne. Squadron Leader Robert Palmer of No. 109 Squadron led as master bomber. The recall from the long, straight Oboe approach never reached him; with two engines already burning from flak he held a level course to give the following aircraft an accurate aiming point, released his bombs, and was seen to spiral down in flames. Only the rear gunner survived, and Palmer 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PB371 | Avro Lancaster | Failed to return |
The fallen
66 airmen in this archive died on 23 December 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 William Bruce Allan (21)
- Pilot Officer Kenneth Harry Austin
- Flying Officer Joseph Ronald Beasley (24)
- Flight Sergeant Norman Collis Boyd (23)
- Pilot Officer Roy Frederick Breen (21)
- Flying Officer Grant Wallace Browne (30)
- Flight Sergeant William John Byrne (30)
- Pilot Officer Frederick William Campbell (29)
- Flight Lieutenant Eric Charles Carpenter (25)
- Squadron Leader Albert Leslie Carter (29)
- Flying Officer Alexander Anthony Christie (21)
- Pilot Officer Richard Joseph Clarke (26)
- Pilot Officer Thomas Eugene Craddock (25)
- Flying Officer Duncan Herbert Cumming
- Sergeant Manley Morton Cummins (20)
- Pilot Officer Donald Russell Currie (21)
- Pilot Officer Gerald Roch D'Amour (19)
- Flight Sergeant Graham Fowler Day (20)
- Flight Sergeant Cyril Keith Deed (25)
- Flight Sergeant Robert John Dickie (20)
- Flight Sergeant Patrick Clifford Doherty
- Warrant Officer Ronald Arthur Dowe (20)
- Flying Officer William Thomas Dunkeld (23)
- Corporal Robert Edward Dutton (22)