Personnel Index - Detail

Name
DEACON
First Names
R M
Rank
Flying Officer
Service
RCAF
Service Number
J86483
Crew Position
Pilot
PoW Date
18/07/1944
Aircraft
Lancaster JB473
Target
Revigny-sur-Ornain
PoW Camp(s)
None, was wounded and liberated from Châlons hospital 28/08/44

 

18/19 July, 1944; REVIGNY:

Crews, exhausted from their pre-dawn exploits were roused from their beds to be told they were 'on' again that night. Two railway targets at Aulnoye and Revigny in France had been selected for attack by 253 Lancasters and 10 Mosquitoes of 1,3,5 and 8 Groups. P/O Burns RCAF (JB701) and crew were the first away from Fiskerton at 22.38hrs, ahead of 14 other Lancasters from the squadron all bound for the rail junction at Revigny. F/O Pederson (ND512) and crew were coned by searchlights just after crossing the enemy coast; the pilot managed to evade the searchlights by corkscrewing his aircraft for 3 minutes. Both targets were hit, severing the rail lines to the battle front, although several bomb aimers reported confusion caused by fires burning near the Red Spot, believed to be aircraft which had been shot down.
On their return leg, a Lancaster flown by F/O Deacon received flak damage and a prowling night fighter was attracted to the damaged bomber and came in to finish them off. Six crew members, including the skipper F/O Roy Deacon RCAF, managed to escape from Q-Queenie safely, but sadly P/O Albert Rammage RCAF, did not survive and is buried in Vassimont-et-Chapelaine Churchyard, Marne.
 

Lancaster JB473 (EA-W)
F/O R.M. Deacon RCAF Pilot (P.o.W.)
Sgt H. Sharp F/E (Evaded)
Sgt W. Fortune NAV (Evaded)
Sgt J.A. Diley W/OP (Evaded)
Sgt D. Wilson RCAF A/G (Evaded)
Sgt A.R. Harpell RCAF B/A (Evaded)
P/O A.J. Rammage RCAF A/G (Killed)

Crew on their 13th operation