Halifax at Beckwith, Harrogate.
On the night of the 13th/14th July 1942 the crew of this aircraft were tasked with bombing Duisburg, their aircraft took off from Linton
on Ouse at 00.12hrs. Whilst over the target the bomb release mechanism failed and the crew were unable to release their bombload, this included
a cookie. They attempted to jettison their load over the sea on their return but this also failed and at 05.00hrs they were left with no option
but to abandon the aircraft. With no-one at the controls the aircraft rolled onto its back, this dislodged the massive bomb which then fell out
just prior to the aircraft crashing. The aircraft crashed at Beckwith (not Brackenthwaite as listed in some source) afew miles from Harrogate,
at 05.20hrs. The bomb landed about a mile away and reportedly made a load bang and a massive crater, as one could well expect. The crew all escaped though two sustained
injuries.
Pilot - Sgt Harry B MacDonald RCAF (R76079), of Sackville, New Brunswick. Injured.
P/O Baker
Sgt Whitter
Sgt Ely
P/O Freedman
Sgt Jones
I was shown the location of the crash site by Ken Reast, Albert Pritchard and Dick Barton in June 2007. They had located the site some time
previously and had cleared the return visit to allow me to visit the site. I would like to thank Mrs Sally Haithwaite for allowing my visit.
A little of the aircraft was located when the site was first located, these peices were cleaned and mounted on a board and
given to the landowner.
21 Jan 42 Emden
13 Mar 42 Boulogne
8 Apr 42 Hamburg
14 Apr 42 Essen
29 May 42 Gennevilliers
30 May 42 Cologne
1 June 42 Essen
25 June 42 Bremen
27 June 42 Le Mans
29 June 42 Tours
2 July 42 Bremen
8 July 42 Wilhelmshaven
13 July 42 Duisburg (The incident detailed above).
31 July 42 Dusseldorf
4 Aug 42 Essen
6 Aug 42 Duisburg
24 Aug 42 Frankfurt
28 Aug 42 Nuremburg
2 Sept 42 Karlsruhe
6 Sept 42 Duisburg
13 Oct 42 Kiel
9 Nov 42 Hamburg
20 Nov 42 Turin
28 Nov 42 Turin
6 Dec 42 Mannheim
20 Dec 42 Duisburg
30 Jan 43 Hamburg
11 Feb 43 Wilhelmshaven
14 Feb 43 Cologne
19 Feb 43 Wilhelmshaven
The pilot Harry Burns MacDonald RCAF was born in 1915. He enlisted in Halifax on 18th October 1940 and trained at 1 ITS
(graduated 26th February 1941), 11 EFTS (graduated 22nd April 1941) and 8 SFTS (graduated 27th July 1941). He flew at least two tours. He
was Commissioned in 1942. His service number appears to have changed at J15644 at some stage in his service, probably after he was commissioned.
He was awarded the DFC, gazetted 13th May 1943 for completing "a large number of operational sorties against the enemy's most heavily defended
targets. On all occasions he has displayed skill and determination of the highest order."" When his recommendation for the DFC was submitted he
had completed 30 sorties (158 operational hours flying time). He survived the War but sadly died in 1956 at the rank of Squadron Leader.
He is buried in Lakeside Cemetery, North Sydney, Cape Breton County.
His recommendation for the DFC states that ""Flight Lieutenant MacDonald has
completed a large number of successful attacks against the heaviest and most hotly defended targets. He has invariably returned
with clockwork regularity having successfully bombed his target. On several occasions recently he has operated in a most important
role showing the same skill and success. In recognition, Flight Lieutenant MacDonald is recommended for the non-immediate award of
the Distinguished Flying Cross"". The following list shows his operation flights upto that date in March 1943.