Topcliffe AFB

The airplane departed RAF Topcliffe at 2303LT on an operation to Saarbrücken. While crossing the east coast at 2344LT, the port outer engine caught fire and although the blaze was quelled, structural failure of the port wing followed and the order to bail out was given. At least two crew members fell into the sea and drowned, while the Halifax crashed at 2358LT at Chapel Saint Leonards. Four crew members were killed and three others were injured.
Crew:
W/O Norman Angus MacKenzie, pilot, †
F/Sgt Louis Donald Dawdy, †
F/Sgt Clarence Gordon Eagles, wireless operator, †
Sgt Harold Stone, wireless operator, †
Sgt J. A. Kaucharik,
Sgt J. R. Alexander,
P/O E. B. Mason.

The airplane departed RAF Topcliffe on an operation to Saarbrücken. Shortly before midnight, while passing over Belgium, it was shot down by a German fighter and crashed in Doische. Four crew members were killed and a fifth evaded.
Crew:
F/Sgt Peter Karil Zaparynuk, pilot, †
Sgt William Holt Ledford, observer,
F/Sgt Andrew Holmes, wireless operator, †
F/Sgt Jon (John) Robert Morrow, wireless operator, †
F/Sgt Archie Ernest Caton, air gunner. †

The airplane departed RAF Topcliffe at 2205LT on August 11 on an operation to Mainz. It was shot down by the German Flak and crashed in Duisburg. Four crew members were killed and three others became PoW.
Crew:
F/Sgt Guy Langford-Pudney, pilot, †
Sgt Thomas Alexander Stuart Duff,
Sgt James John Garrity,
Sgt Joseph Douglas Maurice Mercer,
Sgt Kenneth Richard Toller, wireless operator, †
Sgt Arnold Wentworth Hyson, air gunner, †
Sgt G. Atkins. †

The airplane departed RAF Topcliffe at 2350LT on August 9 on an operation to Osnabrück. While returning to base the following night, it was shot down by a German fighter and crashed in Sint Anthonis. All seven crew members were killed.
Crew:
F/Lt David John Bain, pilot,
Sgt Walter Alexander Hill, flight engineer,
P/O Thomas McWhirter Calderwood, observer,
P/O Robert Hilary Vaughan, observer,
F/Sgt Francis Earl Gibbons, wireless operator,
Sgt Thomas Gwynner Morgan, wireless operator,
Sgt Henry Patrick Gover, air gunner.

The airplane departed RAF Topcliffe at 2205LT on August 5 on an operation to Bochum. It was badly shot about by a German fighter, after leaving the target area. With one engine out of action and half of the starboard rudder destroyed, the crew crash landed at 0430LT at RAF West Raynham. The airplane was destroyed and all crew members escaped unhurt.
Crew:
F/Sgt F. A. Schaw,
Sgt S. J. E. Dunn,
Sgt L. C. Fantani,
Sgt H. Johnson,
Sgt L. H. Cailes,
Sgt R. Levente,
Sgt A. Huddlestone.

The airplane departed RAF Topcliffe at 2201LT on August 5 on an operation to Bochum. Over the Netherlands, at an altitude of 4,300 metres, it was shot down by a German fighter and crashed in Sint-Oedenrode, killing the entire crew.
Crew:
F/Sgt Reginald Seymour Tadman, pilot,
Sgt James Colville, flight engineer,
Sgt Frank Arthur Frost, observer,
Sgt Noel Clive Hain, wireless operator,
F/Sgt William Gordon McKinnon, wireless operator,
Sgt Arthur Stanley Charles Ellis, air gunner,
F/Sgt Stanley Raymond Lupton, air gunner.

The airplane departed RAF Topcliffe at 2306LT on July 29 on an operation to Saarbrücken. While returning to base the following night, it was shot down by a German fighter and crashed in Corbais, killing the entire crew.
Crew:
F/Sgt Ronald Francis Stone, pilot,
Sgt Maurice Alfred Barrett, flight engineer,
F/Sgt James Kirkwood, observer,
Sgt Eric Humphrey Williams, wireless operator,
Sgt Victor Henry Twining, air gunner,
F/Sgt Bernard Carroll, air gunner.

The airplane departed RAF Topcliffe at 2313LT on July 26 on an operation to Hamburg. Approaching the German coast, it was shot down by the German Flak and crashed into the North Sea. Two crew members were killed and five others were rescued and became PoW.
Crew:
P/O William Henry Baber, observer, †
Sgt Gwilyn Mieron Jones, wireless operator, †
Sgt John Brian Downes,
Sgt Joseph Stanley Higgin,
Sgt Joseph William Vine,
Sgt Walter Gordon Wilcox,
Sgt John Malcolm Macdonald Wilson.

The airplane departed RAF Topcliffe at 2300LT on July 26 on an operation to Hamburg. Over the target area, it was forced down by heavy Flak and while crossing the coast, at about 100 feet, near Emden, a burst of light flak hit the port outer engine, which burst into flames. The airplane was ditched approximately 8 km off the coast in very shallow water. Three crew members were killed and four others became PoW.
Crew:
P/O Basil Victor Hunter, pilot,
Sgt Richard William Kinsley, flight engineer,
F/Sgt William Eric Mander, bomb aimer, †
Sgt Norman Arthur Penstone, observer, †
Sgt William Henry Golding, wireless operator,
Sgt James Fryett, air gunner,
Sgt Joseph Kenneth Baker, air gunner. †

The airplane departed RAF Topcliffe on a training exercise with a crew of eight on board. While cruising over the Irish Sea, the crew encountered technical problems with the fuel gauges. The captain decided to return to base but as he later realized he could not make it, he decided to divert to the nearest airbase which was RAF Aberporth, a small airfield unfitted for such big airplane. After touchdown, the bomber was unable to stop within the remaining distance, overran, lost its undercarriage, hit a hedge and came to rest in a field. All eight crew members were rescued, among them one was slightly injured. The airplane was damaged beyond repair.
Crew:
F/Sgt Henry Maximilian Slezak, pilot,
F/Sgt Arthur Douglas Swansburg, pilot,
P/O Norman Leslie Laing, flight engineer,
F/Sgt Gerald Robert Titus, observer,
Sgt John Walter Macaulay, wireless operator,
Sgt Joseph Daniel Creede, air gunner,
Sgt Kenneth Story Watson, air gunner,
F/Sgt Thomas Austin Withers, air gunner.