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Operation: Intruder
Date: 03rd January 1944 (Monday)
Unit: No. 418 Squadron (RCAF - Fighter Command)
Type: Mosquito FB.VI
Serial: LR268
Code: Not known
Base: RAF Ford, Sussex
Location: Osterhausen near Cappeln Germany
Pilot: F/O. Joseph Earl McGrath J/16363 RCAF Age 22. Missing (1)
Obs: F/O. Donald Clifford Bissell J/24280 RCAF Age 31. Missing
REASON FOR LOSS:
Taking off from RAF Bradwell at 03:15 hrs on an intruder operation to Diepholz. They were not heard from again and classed as missing.
These sorties, made at low level to escape radar detection, took 418 Squadron crews into the heart of enemy territory, there to wreak havoc among departing or returning Luftwaffe night-fighter crews (Intruder sorties), or to shoot up enemy airfields, or indeed anything else of military value, in Ranger sorties.
As an Intruder squadron, 418 squadron aircraft did not carry radar sets - even at night, targets had to be found, identified, lined up and attacked all with the naked eye. The squadron's success speaks volumes of the skill of its crews that it achieved such success under these conditions. (extract courtesy Wikipedia)
F/O. Joseph Earl McGrath. Runnymede War Memorial. Panel 247. Son of Maj. Joseph E. McGrath, MBE, and Agnes McGrath, of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Born in Quebec City, moved to Kingston and then to Winnipeg at Fort Osborne Barracks and then at 1017 Strathcona Street where he lived until enlisting in February 1941.
F/O. Donald Clifford Bissell. Runnymede War Memorial. Panel 245. Son of Olin C. Bissell and Irene (née Mallory) of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Parents buried at Bissell Cemetery, Augusta Township, Grenville County, Ontario, Canada - his name is also inscribed on the family headstone. Born 21st August 1913.
Researched and dedicated to the relatives of this crew with thanks to Martin Frauenheim from Germany for newspaper reports. David Franklin for translation.
KTY 24.08.2015
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