Dortmund–ems Canal

1 January 1945 — Dortmund–ems Canal

Date
1 January 1945
Target
Dortmund–ems Canal, Germany

Narrative

The Dortmund–Ems Canal was a vital artery of the German war economy, and Bomber Command returned to breach it on New Year’s Day 1945. After bombing, a No. 9 Squadron Lancaster was hit by two shells and a fierce fire broke out. The wireless operator, Flight Sergeant George Thompson, twice went through the burning fuselage to drag the mid-upper and then the rear gunner clear of their blazing turrets, beating out the flames on their clothing with his bare hands and suffering terrible burns himself. Both gunners survived; Thompson died of his injuries three weeks later, and 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.

AircraftTypeSquadronPilotCrewOutcome
PD377 Avro Lancaster Crashed on return

The fallen

56 airmen in this archive died on 1 January 1945 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 56 who died on 1 January →

Source: Wikipedia — George Thompson (VC) →