Personnel Index - Detail
7/8 March, 1945; HARBURG:
Oil was the target, when 234 Lancasters and 7 Mosquitoes of 5 Group visited Harburg. The bombing results were good, with extensive damage being caused, but the cost was high with 16 Lancaster crews failing to return to their Lincolnshire bases. The squadron dispatched 18 Lancasters on the raid; one aircraft fail to return plus an airman killed, and another posted missing from a second aircraft.
F/Sgt Cyril Chesnut F/E aged 25 was killed when his aircraft (ME471) was hit by flak. The pilot was hit in the leg but got the kite back OK.
Ron Knight (from Cyril's aircraft) returned late, to the Mess, he was in a terrible state (his battledress was saturated in Chesnutt's blood)... he said they were hit by flak on the way to the target and Cyril Chesnut was badly hit, dying just after (in Ron's arms).