Operation: Emden
Date: 21/22nd January 1942 (Wednesday/Thursday)
Unit: No. 420 Squadron RCAF "Snowy Owl" (motto: 'Pugnamus finitum - We fight to the finish')
Type: Hampden I
Serial: AT130
Code: PT-S
Base: RAF Waddington, Lincolnshire
Location: Sexbierum, Netherlands
Pilot: Sq/Ldr. Victor Thomas Lawrence Wood 39921 RAFO PoW No: 1444 Camp: Stalag Luft Sagan
Obs: Sgt. Desmond de Largy Grealy 903077 RAFVR PoW No: 90127 Camp: Stalag Luft Heydekrug
W/Op/Air/Gnr: Sgt. David Gardiner Semple 1305104 RAFVR PoW No: 125 Camp: Stalag Hohen Fels
W/Op/Air/Gnr: Sgt. Robert Lewis Bott 930272 RAFVR PoW No: 120 Camp: Stalag Hohen Fels
REASON FOR LOSS:
Taking off at 17:25 hrs with 5 others from the Squadron (1 of these on a gardening operation to the Frisian Islands).
Bomb load for each aircraft consisted of 4 x 500 plus 2 x 250lb. bombs which they planned to start dropping between 11000 to 12000 feet at around 20:07 hrs. Weather for the operation was described as visibility good to cloud cover.
Three aircraft from other Squadrons on the Emden operation were shot down by Luftwaffe night fighters AT130 was hit by anti-aircraft fire by M. Flak Abt. 236 at 22:30 hrs. The Australian pilot managed to force land his aircraft, all the crew survived to be taken PoW.
Burial details:
None - all the crew survived.
With thanks to Michel Beckers for Hampden Image. For further details our thanks to the following sources shown below.
