Wilhelmshaven
11 February 1943 — Wilhelmshaven
- Date
- 11 February 1943
- Target
- Wilhelmshaven, Germany
- Force dispatched
- 177 aircraft
Narrative
Wilhelmshaven was Germany’s chief North Sea naval base. On the night of 11/12 February 1943 around 177 aircraft attacked it, with Pathfinders marking through cloud on the new H2S radar. By chance the bombing fell on the naval ammunition depot at Mariensiel, which blew up in a vast explosion that flattened much of the surrounding area — far more damage than the planners had hoped for, and one of the most destructive single results of any raid on the port.
Sortie details (which aircraft from which squadron, which crew flew, the outcome) will populate this page once the TNA AIR 27 squadron-diary importer arrives.
The fallen
73 airmen in this archive died on 11 February 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.
- Sergeant Abdul Karim
- Sergeant Oscar Philip Edwin Ronald Adlam (26)
- Flight Sergeant Ross Maddaugh Agnew (34)
- Sergeant Henry Edwin Amos (22)
- Sergeant William Ball (22)
- Aircraftman 1st Class James Bradshaw Booth (28)
- Sergeant Reginald Thomas Bozier (20)
- Leading Aircraftman Charles James Brandon
- Warrant Officer Class I Lloyd Willis Brayford
- Aircraftman 1st Class Cyril Wallace Frederick Breach (31)
- Flight Sergeant William Austin Brown (21)
- Leading Aircraftman Wilfred Arthur Burfoot
- Sergeant Walter Eric Burns (20)
- Flight Sergeant Theadore Edgar James Casey (20)
- Sergeant Arnold Charles Clifford (20)
- Sergeant Charles Frederick Clout
- Flight Sergeant Douglas Ian Clunes (22)
- Sergeant Trevor Charles Coles (22)
- Sergeant Richard Arthur Collins
- Sergeant Frank Cooper (20)
- Sergeant Robert Edward Dignum (22)
- Flying Officer Bryan Dunn (22)
- Sergeant Kenneth Trevor Dutton (19)
- Flying Officer Henry Farquharson Ley (22)
See all 73 who died on 11 February →
Source: No. 103 Squadron — Wilhelmshaven, 11/12 February 1943 →