F/L Gilbert W Stanhope RAF and crew – 103 Squadron – RAF Elsham Wolds – 1943
Failed to Return – 1/2nd March 1943 – Avro Lancaster I – W4880 – Op Berlin
Gilbert Stanhope was a pre war regular airman and was posted to 103 Squadron at RAF Elsham Wolds on the 10th February 1943
16-Feb-43 – Lorient – Lancaster – ED389 – F/L GW Stanhope
18-Feb-43 – Wilhelmshaven – Lancaster – W4880 – F/L GW Stanhope
26-Feb-43 – Cologne – Lancaster – W4880 – F/L GW Stanhope
28-Feb-43 - St Nazaire – Lancaster – W4880 – F/L GW Stanhope
01-Mar-43 – Berlin – Lancaster – W4880 – F/L GW Stanhope – FTR - Crashed at Bookhorn near Bremen, Germany.
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F/L Gilbert William Stanhope RAF – Pilot - 29 – 103 Sqn - Son of Robert Melodew Stanhope and Mary Elizabeth Stanhope, of Wallington, Surrey – Sage War Cemetery, Germany
Sgt Robert Frazer RAFVR – Flight Engineer – 21 – 103 Sqn - Son of Edgar and Jean Frazer, of Moorpark, Renfrew – Sage War Cemetery, Germany
P/O Harry Clinton Pulley RCAF ( pictured below ) – Navigator - 24 – 103 Sqn - Son of Harry Clinton Pulley and Margaret Ann Pulley: husband of Alice Pulley, of Revelstoke, British Columbia, Canada – Sage War Cemetery, Germany
Sgt Philip Smart RAFVR – Air Bomber - 23 – 103 Sqn - Son of Philip and Dora Cameron Smart, of Newcastle-on-Tyne – Sage War Cemetery, Germany
Sgt Ronald Leslie Hunt RAFVR – Wireless Operator / Air Gunner – 103 Sqn - Sage War Cemetery, Germany
Sgt Reginald Douglas Foley RAFVR ( pictured below ) – Air Gunner - 21 – 103 Sqn - Son of Albert Thomas Foley and Alice Foley of Piddington, Buckinghamshire – Sage War Cemetery, Germany
Sgt James Denis Williams RCAF ( pictured below ) – Air Gunner - 20 – 103 Sqn - Son of Harold and Bertha Williams, of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada – Sage War Cemetery, Germany
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01-Mar-43 – Berlin
103 Squadron detailed 12 aircraft for this attack on the German capital of Berlin. There was no cloud cover over the target and the PFF marking was perfect. There were estimated to be 250/300 searchlights and the flak pitiful as one crew described it. S/L Kennard who completed the Squadron “recco” reports the raid a colossal success with over 70 fires burning even in the early part of the raid.
All returned except F/L Stanhope and crew and F/S Austin and crew.
For this attack on Berlin Bomber Command detailed a total of 302 aircraft - 156 Lancasters, 86 Halifaxes, 60 Stirlings despatched to Berlin. The Pathfinders experienced difficulty in producing concentrated marking because individual parts of the extensive built-up city area of Berlin could not be distinguished on the H2S screens. Bombing photographs showed that the attack was spread over more than 100 square miles with the main emphasis in the south-west of the city. However, because larger numbers of aircraft were now being used and because those aircraft were now carrying a greater average bomb load, the proportion of the force which did hit Berlin caused more damage than any previous raid to this target. This type of result - with significant damage still being caused by only partially successful attacks - was becoming a regular feature of Bomber Command raids. Some bombs hit the Telefunken works at which the H2S set taken from the Stirling shot down near Rotterdam was being reassembled. The set was completely destroyed in the bombing but a Halifax of 35 Squadron with an almost intact set crashed in Holland on this night and the Germans were able to resume their research into H2S immediately. 17 aircraft - 7 Lancasters, 6 Halifaxes, 4 Stirlings - lost, 5.6 per cent of the force.
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Lancaster - W4880
18-Feb-43 – Wilhelmshaven – Lancaster – W4880 – F/L GW Stanhope
25-Feb-43 – Nuremberg – Lancaster – W4880 – Sgt AA Crouch
26-Feb-43 – Cologne – Lancaster – W4880 – F/L GW Stanhope
28-Feb-43 - St Nazaire – Lancaster – W4880 – F/L GW Stanhope
01-Mar-43 – Berlin – Lancaster – W4880 – F/L GW Stanhope – FTR - Crashed at Bookhorn near Bremen, Germany.
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Above L to R - Pulley and Williams
Sgt Reginald Douglas Foley RAFVR
Sgt Reginald Douglas Foley RAFVR - Newspaper cutting
Compiled by David Fell. Foley photos courtesy of Angie Mary Goulding and Simon Cains. Others courtesy of the Canadian Virtual War Museum.
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