Krefeld
21 June 1943 — Krefeld
- Date
- 21 June 1943
- Target
- Krefeld, Germany
- Force dispatched
- 705 aircraft
- Aircraft lost
- 44
Narrative
Krefeld was one of the most destructive and one of the costliest nights of the whole campaign. Of the 705 aircraft dispatched, near-perfect Oboe-Mosquito ground marking guided three-quarters of the main force to bomb within three miles of the centre, and the concentrated load — more than 2,300 tons — raised a firestorm that gutted roughly 47 per cent of the old town. Over a thousand people were killed and some 72,000 left destitute. But the raid was flown in the brightness of a full moon, and the German night-fighters found the bomber stream with ease: 44 aircraft failed to return, a punishing 6.2 per cent. Twelve of the losses were Pathfinders — 35 Squadron alone lost six of the nineteen Halifaxes it had put up. The night captured the central bargain of the Ruhr battle: Oboe marking could now devastate a city, but a moonlit sky handed the advantage straight back to the defence.
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
281 airmen in this archive died on 21 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 Brian Alfred Abraham
- Flight Sergeant Ernest William Alexander (21)
- Sergeant Henry Alexander (19)
- Sergeant William Anderson
- Sergeant Albert Stanley Andrews (22)
- Pilot Officer James Wesley Andrews (23)
- Pilot Officer Leonard Arthur Charles Angell (23)
- Flight Sergeant Joseph Rene Archambault
- Sergeant James Henry Arlow (23)
- Flight Sergeant Douglas Joseph Ashby-peckham (20)
- Sergeant John Atkinson (28)
- Leading Aircraftman Eric Percival Bagster (19)
- Flying Officer John Brian Godfrey Bailey (22)
- Sergeant Harry Frederick Barham (22)
- Sergeant Frederick Vernon Barnard
- Flying Officer Andrew Stuart Barrie (25)
- Sergeant John Irvine Barrie
- Flight Sergeant William Henry Bartlett (22)
- Flying Officer Edward Norman Billington (21)
- Pilot Officer John Eveleyn Wreford Birkett
- Pilot Officer George Edward Bisheff
- Flying Officer Reginald Charles Bishop (20)
- Pilot Officer Denis Blum (22)
- Sergeant Arthur John Boar (22)
See all 281 who died on 21 June →
Source: Wikipedia — Battle of the Ruhr →