Personnel Index - Detail

Name
BIRD
First Names
Sydney Dennis
Rank
F/Sgt
Service
RCAF
Service Number
R115874
Crew Position
Navigator/Bomb Aimer
Age
23
Date of Death
15/06/1943
Cemetery

 



Photographs courtesy of Michel Beckers from WWII Crashsite Research

Photographed by Malcolm Brooke

 

14/15 June, 1943: OBERHAUSEN:

An all Lancaster force of 197, guided by 6 Oboe Mosquitoes made a successful attack on Oberhausen. Despite the target being cloud-covered, accurate sky-marking enabled the bombers to do considerable damage. Twelve Lancasters lifted from Fiskerton's runway, the last one away by 22.32hrs. The crews soon found themselves engaged in a savage battle from both flak and fighters which resulted in Bomber Command losing 17 aircraft. W/O Norman Nixon (ED435), whose brother happened to be the Medical Officer at Fiskerton, was killed along with his crew over Germany, their Lancaster crashing near Lembeck; the crew are buried together in the Reichwald Forest Cemetery.

Additional information:
Close to the target area, Lancaster ED453 was engaged by; 1 & 4/schw Flak Abt 336, 1/schw Flak Abt 543, 3/schw Flak Abt 476 and 4/schw Flak Abt 112, hit and shot down.
The aircraft crashed at Klein Reken at 0138 with the loss of all eight crew.

Lancaster ED453 (EA-G)
W/O N. Nixon Pilot (Killed)
Sgt C. Wilde F/E (Killed)
F/S S.D. Bird RCAF Nav (Killed)
Sgt R.T. Moore W/AG (Killed)
Sgt R.K.B. Muir A/G (Killed)
Sgt N.W. Fyfe B/A (Killed)
Sgt F.R. Fowler A/G (Killed)
Sgt E. Dangerfield Extra W/AG (Killed)

Crew on their 10th operation



Sgt 'Nicky' Nixon running up ED453 G-George at dispersal on 22 Apr 1943. Just visible in the trees behind the groundcrew figure is the 'Old Vicarage' at the top of the hill into Fiskerton village. The Nixon crew failed to return from the Oberhausen raid on 14/15 June 1943 in this aircraft. Note the 'Mandrel' aerial clearly visible on the nose. Mandrel was used by the electronic countermeasures squadrons who mostly carried a crew of eight. At least one of the crew spoke German to countermand orders from the Beacon operators directing nightfighters onto our aircraft. Mandrel was a jamming radar against the Wurzburg radar stations.