Operation: Stuttgart, Germany

Date: 14th/15th April 1943 (Wednesday/Thursday)

Unit No: 7 Squadron, 8 Group, Bomber Command

Type: Stirling III

Serial: BK769

Code: MG:G

Base: RAF Oakington, Cambridgeshire.

Location: Lembach, 2km south of Oberstenfeld, 10km SSE of Heilbronn

Pilot: Sqn Ldr. Raymond William McCarthy 40239 RAF Age 30. KiA

Flt Eng: Sgt. Gordon Wade 568514 RAF Age 21. KiA

Nav: Plt Off. Alfred Louis Foster J17453 RCAF Age 23. KiA

Bom Aimer: Sgt. Ralph Vincent Jennings 1337496 RAFVR Age 21. KiA

WOp/Air Gnr: WO2. Lloyd Wallace Bartman R92543 RCAF Age 21. KiA

Air Gnr (Mid Upp): Sgt. Leonard Francis James Harris 1377951 RAFVR Age 33. KiA

Air Gnr (Rear): Flt Sgt. Frederick James Britton 1336022 RAFVR Age 21. KiA

REASON FOR LOSS:

Taking off from RAF Oakington, Cambridgeshire at 21:17 hrs to join 462 aircraft - 146 Wellington, 135 Halifaxes, 98 Lancasters, 83 Stirlings to attack Stuttgart again. Not classed as a huge success as the pathfinders although claiming to have placed the markers accurately the main bombing force hit the north east of the target.

Only a few bombs hit the centre of Stuttgart. The old church Gedachtnis was destroyed and a 1 bomb had a direct hit on an air raid shelter packed with French and Russian prisoners of war. 257 Frenchman and 143 Russians were killed. This tragedy brought the total death toll to 619, a new record for raids to Germany.

(Below, the effects of allied bombing on Stuttgart).

23 aircraft were lost on this raid with 7 Squadron losing three aircraft.The other two being:

Stirling I R9278 MG:E Flown by Plt Off. James Thomas Reekie Taylor DFC 143232 shot down and taken PoW with all but two of his crew - the others evaded capture;

Stirling III BK709 MG:F Flown by 21 year old American Plt Off. Mathew Mank J16626 RCAF from Miami, Florida, killed with all his 6 other crew members

(7 Squadron Stirlings shown above at RAF Oakington)

BK769 was claimed by Maj Helmut Peters from Stab III./NJG101- near Grossbottwar 12km North West of Backnang (Bachstelze): 4,800m at 00:43 hrs. The claim not listed by OKL, nor in OKL/RLM Stab III./NJG101. Confirmed Abschussubersicht. (Nachtjagd Combat Archive (1 January - 22 June) 1943 Part 1 - Theo Boiten)

Burial Details:

Durnbach War Cemetery (courtesy David Franklin - David has kindly provided us with permission to release high definition copies to relatives)

Above, the McCarthy brothers - all lost.

Sqn Ldr. Raymond William McCarthy. Sage War Cemetery. Grave 5.E.9. Son of William Edmond and Clara McCarthy, of Wanganui, Wellington, New Zealand.

His brothers 19 year old, Morris Donald Darwin and 26 year old, Robert Colin also died on service. Although Raymond and Morris died in different years they are buried in the same grave in Sage War Cemetery, Germany. The family requested that his remains to be placed with his brother - originally he was buried with his crew at Durnbach. Their other brother, L/Cpl. Robert Colin McCarthy 32716 25th Battalion NZ Infantry killed on the 25th October 1942 - buried at El Alamein War Cemetery, Grave I.E.3.

Sgt. Gordon Wade. Durnbach War Cemetery. Coll. Grave 9.D. 23-24. Born on the 22nd July 1922. Son of Harry and Florida Wade. Living with Mary Wade (née Bush), Thame Oxfordshire. Joined RAF as an apprentice in 1937.

Initially buried in Oberstenfeld Civilian Cemetery Collective Grave 48-51. Reinterred 7 May 1948

Plt Off. Alfred Louis Foster. Durnbach War Cemetery. Grave 9.D. 21. Born on the 13th July 1917 in Toronto, Ontario. Son of Willie and Mary Ada (née Watters) Foster, of Toronto, Canada. He had 3 siblings and worked as a lumber mill worker before enlisting in June 1940.

Sgt. Ralph Vincent Jennings. Durnbach War Cemetery. Grave 9.D. 20. Son of Leonard Victor and Kathleen Louise Jennings, of Dymock, Gloucestershire, England.

Above: Newspaper clipping from the Calgary Herald (veterans.gc.ca) informing family of the loss of the brothers

WO2. Lloyd Wallace Bartman. Durnbach War Cemetery. Grave 9.D. 22. Born on 8th November 1921 in Hanna, Alberta. Son of Harold Wellington and Christina Vera (née Gordon) Bartman, of Hanna, Alberta, Canada.

His brother, WO2. Gordon Harold Bartman R103506, Lost with 102 Sqn Halifax II HR712 on an operation to Stettin. Nyborg New Cemetery Grave G2.

Sgt. Leonard Francis James Harris. Durnbach War Cemetery. Coll. Grave 9.D. 23-24. Son of Francis Frederick Joseph and Emily Annie Harris, of Brockley, London, England.

Above: Flt Sgt. Frederick James Britton (Courtesy of William Smail)

Flt Sgt. Frederick James Britton. Durnbach War Cemetery. Coll. Grave 9.D. 23-24. Born in September 1921. The son of Frederick George and Bessie Gladys lindley Britton, of Portsmouth. He married Betty Alice Blagden in March 1940. He was an iron caulker at HM Dockyards before the war.

Researched by Kelvin Youngs (Webmaster) and dedicated to the relatives of this crew with thanks to Bart Baeyens of Lembeek, Flanders, for grave photo, Thanks to Marcus Wade for Next of Kin details for Sgt. Wade. Thanks to Caroline Cook for the Next of Kin details for Flt Sgt. Britton, Plt Off. Foster and cutting for the Bartman brothers. Thanks to Joerg Mezger for the accurate location of the crash site. Thanks to John Jones for the Night fighter claim information and additional burial details for Sgt. Wade (Dec 2021). Thanks to William Smail for the photograph of Flt Sgt. Britton. (May 2024).

Other sources listed below:

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