Downham Market AFB

The aircraft left RAF Downham Market at 2019LT on August 16 on a bombing mission to Torino, Italy. While flying over the east part of France at an altitude of 14,000 feet, the aircraft was shot down by the pilot of a German fighter and crashed in a field in Saint German en Bugey. A crew member was taken PoW, another evaded while five others were killed.
Crew (218th Squadron):
W/O S. F. Chudzik, †
Sgt D. Deans, †
Sgt C. E. Taylor, †
Sgt D. P. J. Rawlings, †
Sgt J. D. Bates, †
Sgt J. L. Paterson,
Sgt W. L. McKinnon.

The airplane departed RAF Downham Market at 1950LT on an operation to Stuttgart. It crashed in unknown circumstances near the Aerodrome of Dieppe-Saint-Aubin and was destroyed. All seven crew members were killed.
Crew:
P/O Gerald Andrew Parkinson, pilot,
Sgt Reginald Baron Percy Henry Heath, flight engineer,
Sgt Philip Percy Jobling, navigator,
P/O Joseph Millward, navigator,
Sgt Dennis Collins, wireless operator,
F/Sgt Colin James Campbell, air gunner,
Sgt James Hamilton Ross, air gunner.

The airplane departed RAF Downham Market at 1929LT on an operation to Essen. Over the target area, it was shot down by the German Flak and crashed in Kray, in the east suburb of the city. All seven crew members were killed.
Crew:
P/O George Arthur Ratcliffe, pilot,
Sgt James Turner, flight engineer,
Sgt David Henry Melville, bomb aimer,
Sgt William Edwin Waddington, wireless operator,
F/Sgt Keith Ronald Heming,
Sgt John Thomas Charlton, air gunner,
Sgt William Thomas Hurl, air gunner.

The airplane departed RAF Downham Market at 1900LT on March 1st on an operation to Berlin. Over the target area, it encountered heavy Flak and later in the vicinity of Kiel. On regaining the East Anglia coast, it came out of cloud and crashed at 0245LT at Themelthorpe. All seven crew members were injured.
Crew:
F/O G. F. Berridge, pilot,
Sgt K. F. Erne,
Sgt L. A. Oakley,
P/O T. C. Wheelhouse,
P/O C. V. Parsloe,
Sgt A. A. Fitzpatrick,
Sgt J. A. Bolton, air gunner.

The airplane departed RAF Downham Market at 1815LT but swung violently to starboard. While trying to recover the situation, the undercarriage collapsed and the Stirling was damaged beyond repair. All seven crew members escaped uninjured.
Crew:
P/O E. B. Cozens, pilot,
Sgt G. Mathias,
F/Sgt B. B. Hosick,
Sgt F. W. Hales,
Sgt L. T. Chessel,
Sgt J. A. Pidgen,
Sgt J. Anderson, air gunner.

The airplane departed RAF Downham Market at 1940LT on February 25 on an operation to Nuremberg. Passing the French/German border, it was shot down by a German fighter and crashed on the east bank of the Rhine River, in Rheinau. All seven crew members were killed.
Crew:
Sgt Raymond William White, pilot,
Sgt James Christopher Wade, flight engineer,
W/O George Mathews, navigator,
Sgt Lloyd Lincoln Stuart, bomb aimer,
Sgt Harry Victor Werner, wireless operator,
W/O Sgt Kenneth Ian Young, air gunner,
Sgt John William Hearn, air gunner.

The airplane departed RAF Downham Market at 1847LT on an operation to Hamburg. Approaching the Dutch coast, it was shot down by a German fighter and crashed into the sea off Zoutelande. All eight crew members were killed.
Crew:
F/Lt Stanley Leonard Treves, pilot,
F/O Peter Clyde Astrosky, pilot,
Sgt Ronald Hargreaves, flight engineer,
F/O George Charles Bellman, navigator,
Sgt John Gallagher, bomb aimer,
Sgt Charles Henry Yoxall, wireless operator,
Sgt James Trueman Bostock, air gunner,
Sgt George Thomas Kennington, air gunner.

The airplane departed RAF Downham Market at 1835LT on an operation to Hamburg. It was shot down by a German fighter and crashed near Deelen AFB. All seven crew members were killed.
Crew:
Sgt Leslie Joseph Dodd, pilot,
Sgt Matthew Bean Holden, flight engineer,
F/Sgt Richard Charles Selby, observer,
W/O Robert John Thomas Lynn, bomb aimer,
F/Sgt Frank Campbell Stewart, wireless operator,
Sgt Denis Graham Heath, air gunner,
F/Sgt Howard William Traver, air gunner.

The airplane departed RAF Downham Market at 1703LT to lay mines in the Sweet Pea region of the Baltic. In the late evening, while home bound at an altitude of 400 feet in limited visibility, it impacted a hill and crashed in Dassel. Seven crew members were killed and one became PoW.
Crew:
P/O Arthur Edward Gough, pilot, †
Sgt Edward John Forward, †
P/O Geoffrey Charles Layley, †
Sgt George Leslie Banks, †
P/O Kenneth Alsey Taylor, †
Sgt Loring Charles Ehrhart, †
Sgt Norman Whitehead, †
Sgt W. E. Jackson, air gunner.

The airplane departed RAF Downham Market at 1732LT on an operation to Fallersleben. Approaching Hanover, it was shot down by the German Flak and crashed in Kaltenweide. Three crew members were killed and four others became PoW.
Crew:
F/O Robert Marshall, pilot,
Sgt Michael William Lavelle, flight engineer, †
F/O Charles Curtis Merril McCann, observer, †
W/O Joseph B. Nault, bomb aimer, †
Sgt Henry Richard George Whittall,
Sgt Samuel Wilson,
Sgt William Cameron Fraser, air gunner.