The target was Düsseldorf, which would be visited by 759 aircraft that night. In the meantime, the Germans made more and more use of 'diversion fires'. Huge fires were built in the fields outside the city, leading the British to believe that this was the burning city. The result was that the bombs tumbled down scattered. Twenty-seven aircraft were lost (3.6%). Four of them crashed in our country.
About 2 o'clock (at least according to a document from the intelligence service 'MARC'), the Wellington X 'NA-A' (HZ476) of the 428 Sqdn crashed near Bree. The six dead were buried in Brustem, they are now resting in Heverlee. They were W / O II William Pepper RCAF (pilot, age 21), P / O Roy Madge RCAF (co-pilot, posthumously promoted to Flying Officer, age 23), Sgt Frank Baker RCAF (navigator, later Pilot Officer, age 24) , Sgt Norman Waters RCAF (bomb aimer, also missed his promotion to Warrant Officer II, age 22), Sgt Kenneth Higgs (radio operator, age 20) and Sgt William Douglas RCAF (rear gunner, later W / O II).
The first graves of the crew (Aircrew Remembered)
