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| Date: | Sunday 8 December 1940 |
| Time: | night |
| Type: | Handley Page Hampden Mk I |
| Owner/operator: | 50 Sqn RAF |
| Registration: | X3004 |
| MSN: | VN-N |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 4 / Occupants: 4 |
| Other fatalities: | 0 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | Mannesmann Röhrenwerke, Düsseldorf, Nordrhein-Westfalen -
 Germany
|
| Phase: | Combat |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | RAF Lindholme, North Yorkshire |
| RAF Lindholme |
7-8 December
DUSSELDORF
Eight aircraft bombed an armament works at (Mannesmann Rohnenwerke) Dusseldorf, North Rhine-Westphalia. X3004 took off at 18.10 hours. Again, due to severe weather causing icing, only three aircraft bombed the target; of the remaining five Hampden aircraft, one, X3004, with
41864 Flying Officer Robert Trevor MULLIGAN (pilot, New Zealander, aged 21),
638746 Sgt. Francis Arthur BUCKLE (Wireless Op/Air Gunner, aged 20)
43292 Pilot Officer Malcolm James PREECE (Observer, Tasmanian. aged 26) and
612904 Sgt. Cyril James SMITH (Air Gunner. aged 19)
F.T.R.(Failed To Return). All four aboard presumed Killed In Action. Robert Mulligan was granted a Short Service commission on 1/4/39 as Acting P/O on probation. He was graded as P/O on probation on 21/10/1939 and later re-graded as P/O on 23/1/1940 before receiving promotion to F/O on 21/10/1940. F/O Mulligan and Sgt Smith were posted missing on Ops on 8/12/1940 when Hampden X3004 was lost on Ops over the North Sea.
Aircraft presumed to have been shot down by AAA/Flak over or near the target or over the North Sea on the return leg. This crew were never recovered and are commemorated on the Runnymede Memorial:
MULLIGAN panel 6
PREECE panel 9
BUCKLE panel 12
SMITH panel 19
Sources:
1. http://www.no-50-and-no-61-squadrons-association.co.uk/app/download/5802508903/50+SQUADRON+ORB+1939+1943+Revision+1.pdf
2. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/1077384/mulligan,-robert-trevor/
3. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/1530764/buckle,-francis-arthur/
4. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/1804633/preece,-malcolm-james/
5. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/1807387/smith,-cyril-james/
6. http://www.yorkshire-aircraft.co.uk/aircraft/yorkshire/york40/l4062.html
7. Bomber Command Losses (1939-1940) WR Chorley, page 137
8. AIR81/4486
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 10-Jul-2018 22:52 | Dr. John Smith | Added |
| 28-Jul-2018 20:33 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Country, ] |
| 11-Nov-2018 14:22 | Nepa | Updated [Operator, Destination airport, Operator, ] |
| 28-Oct-2019 14:46 | Uli Elch | Updated [Operator, Location, ] |
| 02-Nov-2019 18:55 | Anon. | Updated [Operator, Operator, ] |
| 25-Aug-2025 14:01 | MMR | Updated [Source, Narrative, ] |
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