P/O John C H Young RAAF and crew – 103 Squadron – RAF Elsham Wolds – 1943
Failed to Return – 16/17th February 1943 – Avro Lancaster I – ED380 – Op Lorient
02-Feb-43 – Cologne – Lancaster – ED380 – Sgt JCH Young RAAF - Combat with night fighter, No damage or claims reported.
04-Feb-43 – Turin – Lancaster – ED380 – Sgt JCH Young RAAF
11-Feb-43 – Wilhelmshaven – Lancaster – ED380 – Sgt JCH Young RAAF – Early return – Starboard inner engine unserviceable.
13-Feb-43 – Lorient – Lancaster – W4337 – Sgt JCH Young RAAF
14-Feb-43 – Milan – Lancaster – W4337 – Sgt JCH Young RAAF – Early return - Hydraulics became completely unserviceable. Made successful crash-landing at base after jettisoning his bombs.
16-Feb-43 – Lorient – Lancaster – ED380 – P/O JCH Young RAAF – FTR - Crashed in the target area.
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P/O John Charles Harley Young RAAF – 28 – 103 Sqn - Son of Reginald St. Chad Young and Bronwen Young; husband of Sheila Margaret Young of Yanco, New South Wales, Australia - Guidel Communal Cemetery, France
Sgt Douglas Eric Cardwell RAF – Flight Engineer – 23 – 103 Sqn - Son of Joseph Henry and Lily May Cardwell of Intake, Sheffield - Guidel Communal Cemetery, France
P/O Wilfred Ronald Neville RAFVR – Navigator – 21 – 103 Sqn - Son of Frederick John and May Neville of Sutton Coldfield, Warwickshire - Guidel Communal Cemetery, France
Sgt John Charles Woodward RAFVR – Air Bomber – 28 – 103 Sqn - Son of William and Helen Sarah Woodward - Guidel Communal Cemetery, France
P/O Alexander William Stubbs RAAF – 28 – 103 Sqn - Son of George Lewis Stubbs and Marion Jane Stubbs of Middle Park, Victoria, Australia - Guidel Communal Cemetery, France
F/S Arthur James Cedric Mason RAFVR - Air Gunner – 30 – 103 Sqn - Son of Charles and Ethel Mason, of Hayes, Middlesex - Guidel Communal Cemetery, France
Sgt Herbert Charles Ford RAFVR – Air Gunner – 27 – 103 Sqn - Son of Richard Henry and Emily Beatrice Ford of Gillingham, Kent - Guidel Communal Cemetery, France
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16-Feb-43 - Lorient
103 Squadron detailed 11 aircraft for this attack on the French port of Lorient. Visibility was perfect over the target with no cloud and the moon was most bright. Sgt Cook's “recco “ shows it was well fired. There was a huge deluge of bombs immediately after the dropping of the markers by the PFF. Flak was less troublesome than on previous occasions. Sgt J H C Young and crew failed to return.
For this attack on Lorient Bomber Command detailed a total of 377 aircraft - 131 Lancasters, 103 Halifaxes, 99 Wellingtons, 44 Stirlings - carried out the last large raid in this series on Lorient. 363 aircraft dropped mainly incendiary loads in clear visibility. 1 Lancaster lost. Bomber Command had flown 1,853 sorties in 8 'area' raids in response to direct instructions from the Air Ministry against Lorient. 1,675 aircraft claimed to have bombed the port during these raids, dropping nearly 4,000 tons of bombs. 24 aircraft - 1.3 per cent of those dispatched - were lost. Few records are available from Lorient but it is known that the town was now almost completely ruined and deserted.
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Lancaster – ED380
This machine had a short career with 103 Squadron as detailed below
30-Jan-43 – Hamburg – Lancaster – ED380 – P/O RM Newitt RCAF
02-Feb-43 – Cologne – Lancaster – ED380 – Sgt JCH Young RAAF - Combat with night fighter, No damage or claims reported.
04-Feb-43 – Turin – Lancaster – ED380 – Sgt JCH Young RAAF
11-Feb-43 – Wilhelmshaven – Lancaster – ED380 – Sgt JCH Young RAAF – Early return – Starboard inner engine unserviceable.
16-Feb-43 – Lorient – Lancaster – ED380 – P/O JCH Young RAAF – FTR - Crashed in the target area.
Item compiled by David Fell
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