12/13 June 1944

Handley-Page Halifax Mk III # LV915

RAF 78 Squadron

Crèvecœur-le-Grand (Oise)

                                                                                                                               Copyright © 2025 - Association des Sauveteurs d'Aviateurs Alliés- All rights reserved -
                                                                                                                   En français 

Mission: Amiens-Longueau railway facilities (Somme).

     One week after the Allied landings in Normandy, bombing the transport network was a priority target for Bomber Command.

     During the night of 12 to 13 June 1944, the main targets were the railway facilities at Amiens-Longueau, Arras, Cambrai, Caen and Poitiers.

     671 Royal Air Force aircraft (348 Halifaxes, 285 Lancasters and 38 Mosquitoes) took part in these raids. Among them were 18 Halifaxes from Squadron 78, which took off at around 10:15 p.m. from their base in Breighton, Yorkshire. They then assembled in formation and flew into the night towards their designated target: the railway facilities at Amiens-Longueau. The crew of Halifax LV915, piloted by F/O John F. Wyllie, a native of Saskatchewan, Canada, took part in the raid.

     The crew:

    

                                F/O John F. Wyllie                                           F/O John S. Ritchie                                       F/O George K. Lancaster

     

            Sgt. Douglas I. Davies                                Sgt. Mungo W. Couper                                                             Sgt. James E. Byers

     Navigator John S. Ritchie celebrated his 27^th birthday that day.

     Among the attack force, 14 Halifaxes from Squadron 78 reached the target. The bombing proved to be concentrated and accurate despite the Flak that came into action. Halifax LV915 was hit and had to break formation. It headed south, soon coming under attack from Luftwaffe night fighters.

     At around 2 a.m., the disabled four-engined aircraft exploded on impact with the ground at a place called ‘Le Champ de l'Abbaye’ near the village of Crèvecœur-le-Grand. Unable to evacuate, the seven crew members perished. Debris from the aircraft was scattered over a large area. The mutilated bodies of the airmen, gathered in coffins by the inhabitants of Crèvecœur-le-Grand, were handed over to the Germans three days after the crash.

     The seven airmen are buried in the Commonwealth military cemetery in Poix-de-Picardie (Somme).

     10 September 2022 - Ceremony in memory of the crew of Halifax LV915