Düsseldorf
11 June 1943 — Düsseldorf
- Date
- 11 June 1943
- Target
- Düsseldorf, Germany
- Force dispatched
- 783 aircraft
- Aircraft lost
- 38
Narrative
The heaviest raid of the campaign so far sent 783 aircraft against Düsseldorf. Marking was accurate until one backer-up Mosquito released its target indicators some fourteen miles to the north-east, drawing a portion of the force off course. The bulk of the attack nonetheless fell squarely on the city, where it kindled close to 9,000 separate fires — more than 1,400 of them classed as large — and burned out around 130 acres of the centre. Some forty-two industrial concerns were brought to a standstill, roughly 1,300 people were killed and on the order of 140,000 were made homeless. The marking error apart, it was one of the most destructive nights of the Battle of the Ruhr. Thirty-eight bombers failed to return, a reminder that even a well-found attack on a defended Ruhr city was paid for in crews.
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
366 airmen in this archive died on 11 June 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 Frederick Thomas Adams (21)
- Pilot Officer Reginald Ellithorne Allen
- Warrant Officer Edwin John Thurston Altham (35)
- Squadron Leader Benjamin Southam Ambrose (27)
- Sergeant Frederick Anderson (22)
- Flight Sergeant James John Anderson
- Sergeant James Joseph Anderton (31)
- Sergeant John Thomas Anderton
- Flight Sergeant Clifford Raymond Andrews
- Sergeant Jack Norman Angus
- Sergeant Robert Askew
- Sergeant Reginald Arthur Charles Avery (20)
- Flight Sergeant Thomas James Bainbridge (26)
- Sergeant Peter Francis Baker (20)
- Aircraftman 2nd Class Eric Stanley Barlow (27)
- Sergeant Leonard Richard Barrow (21)
- Flight Sergeant Frederick Urquhart Batchelor
- Sergeant Donald Compton Bauman (22)
- Flight Sergeant Malcolm Baxter (21)
- Sergeant John Edward Beedles (19)
- Sergeant James Richard Bell (22)
- Sergeant William Henry Bellhouse
- Flying Officer Bruce William Bennett (27)
- Sergeant Henry James Thomas Bennett (23)
See all 366 who died on 11 June →
Source: Wikipedia — Battle of the Ruhr →