Crash Site British Halifax MK V LK 959 ZL-D Achtmaal

Achtmaal (Ostaaijen) 22 October 1943 Halifax MK V LK 959 ZL-D
On Friday 22 October 1943 at 20.10 the Halifax LK959 ZL-D of No. 427 Squadron RCAF (RAF Station Leeming Yorkshire) on return flight from bombing mission shot down; probably by FlaK. The Halifax crashed in the hamlet of Ostaaijen, in the meadow behind the farm of the Elst family at Groenestraat 25. The entire crew was killed.

Crew members Halifax Mk V LK959 ZL-D were:
Pilot F/Lt. William J. Weston RCAF † --
2nd PilotF/Sgt. Joseph O.A. Lapointe RCAF † 21 years
Flight Engineer Sgt. Peter H. Maudling RAF † 20 yrs
Navigator F/O. Charles E. Oakley RAF † 21 years
Bomb Aimer P/O. Edwin T. McDermott RCAF † --
Wireless On Sgt. Sydney H. Hopson RAF † 23 yrs
Air Gunner F/Sgt. Gordon E. Aitken RCAF † 20 yrs
Air Gunner F/Sgt. William G. Crain RCAF † 25 years

The Halifax ZL-D was part of a strike force of 569 bombers; 322 Lancasters and 247 Halifaxes. The target was Kassel. It was one of the ten heaviest air raids of World War II. Kassel was the headquarters of the military district Wehrkreis IX and was an important junction of rail and highways. Kassel also housed a number of important factories such as the Fieseler aircraft factory, where the Messerschmitt Bf 109 and Focke-Wulf Fw 190 were produced, the factories of the Henschel bomber (Dornier Do17) and of the Panther and Tiger tanks. In addition, there were factories for the production of engines and locomotives.

The bombers dropped more than 1,800 tons of bombs, including 460,000 magnesium fire sticks in a concentrated cartridge. As a deception, Operation "Corona" was carried out for the first time, simulating a raid on Frankfurt. The bombardment was one of the most devastating attacks on a German city since the firestorm on Hamburg (July 24, 1943 Operation Gomorra). A huge firestorm ensued. The fires in the city lasted for seven days with 90 percent of the city burned down. 10,000 people died and 150,000 residents became homeless. 43 of the bombers were lost; 25 Halifaxes and 18 Lancasters.

The Halifax LK959 ZL-D was completely scattered over the crash site. Part of the aircraft, containing two crew members, had already been dismantled and was located approximately 1500m away from the crash site (in the vicinity of Baktassenstraat and Bloken). The crew was scattered over hundreds of meters. On Saturday afternoon, October 23, the mayor of Zundert was ordered by the Ortskommandant in Gilze-Rijen to recover the bodies. This salvage was carried out by the Zundertse first aid. The crew was buried at the Zuylen cemetery in Princenhage and reburied after the war at the English and Canadian War Cemetery in Bergen op Zoom.

Harrie Jochems from Zundert has turned a piece of plexiglass from the fallen Halifax into a beautiful memento. A propeller made of plexiglass with a silver image of Queen Wilhelmina in the middle. This comes from a silver dime: the so-called "Wilhelmientje". Harrie wore this pin during the liberation of Zundert by the Americans.

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Source

• Text: http://www.militairhistorischmuseumachtmaal.nl/
• Photos: Martin Damen