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| Date: | Saturday 11 April 1942 |
| Time: | 00:51 |
| Type: | Handley Page Hampden Mk I |
| Owner/operator: | 455 Sqn RAAF |
| Registration: | AT221 |
| MSN: | UB-D |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 4 / Occupants: 4 |
| Other fatalities: | 0 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | Delrath - Stürzelberg at Dormagen, Nordrhein-Westfalen -
 Germany
|
| Phase: | Combat |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | RAF Wigsley, Nottinghamshire |
Hampden AT221/D: Taking off at 21:46 hrs to bomb the Main Square in Essen. 10/04/1942
254 aircraft on this operation with a weather forecast of clear skies it was hope that the bombing would prove effective. The forecast was incorrect however with heavy cloud over the area - the bomber stream scattered, suffering heavily from the Ruhr flak defences with 14 aircraft lost.
Of the 172 aircraft reported to have bombed the city, just 6 aircraft bomb loads fell. 12 houses destroyed, very little industrial damage.
Hampden AT221 is understood to have been a victim of the anti-aircraft fire with the aircraft coming down at Stürzelberg west of the Rheine, south east of Neuss.
Aircraft crashed near Dalrath/Strurzberg at 00:51 hrs on 11/04/1942
Crew
F/O (Aus.3200) Robert Charles Roberts (Pilot) RAAF killed
F/O (Aus.400623) Frederick Abbey Keck (Nav./BA) RAAF killed
Sgt (1057411) John Ripley Wright (WOp/AG) RAFVR killed
Sgt (Aus.408045) Frank Hill Canning (AG) RAAF killed
Coned by 1/Res Flakscheinw Abt 159, 2/Res Flakscheinw 648 and 3/III/Flak Regt 611. Hit by 1-3/Res Flak Abt 512, 1 & 3/Res Flak Abt 371, 1 & 3/Res Flak Abt 381, 1 & 3 133.
Aircraft crashed near Dalrath/Strurzberg at 00:51
Post war it was established that the aircraft crashed at Sturzelberg on the west bank of the Rhine, 11 kms south east of Neuss. All the crew were killed and were initially buried at Sturzelberg. (Stürzelberg is a district of the city Dormagen in the Rhein-Kreis Neuss in North Rhine-Westphalia in the administrative district of Dusseldorf, at approximate Coordinates: 51°8'27"N, 6°48' 56" E|.
Sources:
1. http://www.adf-serials.com.au/hampden.htm
2. ORB 455 Sqdn RAAF
3. https://www.cwgc.org.
4. https://www.backtonormandy.org/the-history/lost/hampden/18437-AT2211942-04-11.html
5. https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/St%C3%BCrzelberg
6. Nachtjagd Combat Archive The Early Years part two
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 01-Dec-2017 21:04 | Red Dragon | Added |
| 22-Jul-2018 18:58 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Time, Cn, Operator, Location, Phase, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative, ] |
| 11-Nov-2018 13:10 | Nepa | Updated [Operator, Operator, ] |
| 30-Apr-2019 11:50 | Anon. | Updated [Time, Location, Destination airport, Narrative, ] |
| 17-Apr-2020 18:23 | TigerTimon | Updated [Other fatalities, Location, Destination airport, Source, ] |
| 24-Aug-2024 10:10 | Nepa | Updated [Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative, Operator, ] |
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