Short Stirling BF479 - 1943
Posted by: 
naj16
N 51° 16.050 E 005° 00.149
31U E 639697 N 5681477
Memorial erected in remembrance of the eight crew members of the Stirling BF479 which crashed close to this spot in the night of 13/14 May 1943.
Waymark Code: WMHWD6
Location: Antwerpen, Belgium
Date Posted: 08/19/2013
Views: 11
"Short Stirling III BF479 OJ-E of 149 Squadron took off from RAF Lakenheath on 13/14th March 1943 to bomb Bochum which was situated in the industrial region of the Ruhr Valley in Germany. BF479 was part of a force of 442 aircraft, 135 of which were Halifaxes, 104 Wellingtons, 98 Lancasters, 95 Stirlings and 10 Mosquitoes. Overall 24 aircraft and their young crews were lost on this raid alone including 13 Halifaxes, 6 Wellingtons, 4 Stirlings and 1 Lancaster.
The raid started well but after 15 minutes, what were believed to be German decoy markers drew much of the bombing away from the target. 394 buildings in Bochum were destroyed, 716 were seriously damaged. Tragically 302 people were killed in the bombing.
So what of the crew of Stirling BF479, with their mission complete, the young crew began their homeward journey, but they were not safe yet. At 03.05 hours on the 14th May 1943 when flying over Belgium the crew requested a bearing which was given – nothing further was heard from the crew of BF479. The aircraft was claimed by a night fighter Obfw Fritz Schellwat of 2/NJG1 at 03.15 hrs, the Stirling crashed 10km SE of Turnhout near Kasterlee.
The gun camera of Schellwat confirmed the kill. Obfw Fritz Schellwat had a total of 17 confirmed victories by the end of the war. The crew of BF479 were buried locally at first before before being re-interred at Schoonselhof after the war.
The Crew:
LESLIE CYRIL MARTIN - Pilot
ROBERT CHRYSLER FERGUSON - 2nd Pilot RCAF
GEORGE REICHER ROYDE (DFC) - Bomb Aimer
JACK ERIC BUTT - Flight Engineer
HOWARD PHILIP FUDGE - Mid Gunner RCAF
HAROLD ARTHUR JAMES BERRY Rear Gunner
NORMAN HARRY FRANK - Navigator
EDMUND HAZELDEN-FRENCH Wireless Operator"
Text by Redhillwings
Web Address for Related Web Sites: [Web Link]
Date of Crash: 05/14/1943
Aircraft Model: Short Stirling
Military or Civilian: Military
Tail Number: BF479
Cause of Crash:
Shot by a German night fighter.
|
Visit Instructions:
Only log waymarks if you have visited the site personally.
Recent Visits/Logs:
| There are no logs for this waymark yet. |
|
|
|