Handley Page Halifax III (NP933 MH-M) on a mission to Kleve on 1944-07-09
On Monday, 10 July 1944, (a part of) the aircraft of the 51 squadron (RAF), took off for a mission to Kleve in Germany from a station (airfield) in or near Snaith.
One of the crew members was Flying Officer A G Brandon. He departed for his mission at 11:32.
He flew with a Handley Page Halifax (type III, with serial NP933 and code MH-M). His mission and of the other crew members was planned for Monday, 10 July 1944.
Steve Burdon (ex-RAF): F/O Douglas Delaney was only survivor from this mission.
He was manning rear gun when the whole turret pod was blown off! Unusually he was already wearing his chute but not his boots, his daughter tells me he would normally wear his boots but not his chute.
His chute was caught in a tree and he was captured. He spent the remainder of the war at Stalag Luft III.
Doug died in 1996 near Bury st. Edmunds, Suffolk.
I have a photo of the crew standing next to a Halifax, unfortunately the Registration is not visible however there seems to be a unique item about the pictured aircraft as the upper rear gun turret has a fairing around its base, I haven't seen that on any other Halifax a/c.
Delaney is second from right in the aircraft photo and the burial picture I understand is of a crew member from NP933 in Germany, however there was no info on back of that photo and just seeing as it was the only two that the late Doug Delaney had in a folder I'm guessing.
Information about aircraft who did not return from this mission can be found here. Information about the other crew members on this flight can be found at this website (Aircrew Remembered). This website also provides the flight information for this record.
This record can also be found on the maps of Back to Normandy with Google coordinates. You can find the maps by clicking on this link on this location.
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