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HX345
Halifax III HD-Y
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| 28th January 1944 | ||||||||
| Pilot | Bomb Aimer | Navigator | Wireless Operator | Flight Engineer | Mid Upper Gunner | Rear Gunner | 2nd Pilot | |
| P/O G B Coombes | P.O. R R Last | P/O L D Anderson | F/S P P Balderston | Sgt J T Causier | Sgt R Nelson | P/O C J Trotman | F/O R D Hughes | |
| RAAF - P.o.W. | P.o.W. | RAAF | RAAF - P.o.W. | P.o.W. | RAAF | P.o.W. | ||
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left to right:- PO G B Coombes. P/O L D Anderson. P/O C J Trotman. F/S P P Balderston. |
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| Take Off :- 00:25 | Base:- RAF Leconfield | Mission:- Berlin | ||||||
| Details:-After being hit by flak and losing an engine they elected to carry on. They were then shot down by two Ju88's from 20,000ft and came down at Blesdorf, 10km East South East from the centre of Berlin. | ||||||||
| 677 aircraft including 241 Halifax detailed on the mission, 26 Halifax aircraft were lost including HX233, HX294 and HX345 from 466 Squadron. | ||||||||
| Sgt Nelson is commemorated on the Runnymede Memorial. | ||||||||
| P/O Anderson and P/O Trotman were buried in Elsgrund near Berlin until 1949 before being re-buried in the Berlin 1939 - 1945 War Cemetery. | ||||||||
| P/O Coombes - PoW number is 1810 in camps 9C/L3. | ||||||||
| P/O Last - PoW number is 3575 in camp L3. | ||||||||
| F/S Balderston - PoW number is 970 in camps L6/357. | ||||||||
| Sgt Causier - PoW number is 1090 in camps L6/357. | ||||||||
| F/O Hughes - PoW number is 1064 in camps L6/L4. | ||||||||
| Photo of P/O R R Last kindly donated by his daughter Sheila Leech | ||||||||
Crew
photo courtesy of Australian War Memorial |
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If you have anything to add or talk about concerning this crew then please contact me on the address below, halifaxlv827@yahoo.co.uk |
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