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244469
WO2. Herman Stanley Fawns
Royal Canadian Air Force 431 (Iroquois) Squadron
from:Uxbridge
(d.22nd June 1943)
On the night of the 21st/22nd of June 1943 Wellington HF518 took off at 23.33hrs from RAF Burn for an operation on Krefeld. One of 705 aircraft that took part in this operation. The visibility was extremely good that evening and the city was very heavily bombed. Much damage was caused and many lives lost with almost half of the city being burned out. Over 70,000 lost their homes. 44 aircraft were lost on this operation. Wellington HF518 may have been hit by flak or shot down by an enemy night fighter and was lost without trace.
Pilot: W/C. John Coverdale MiD 27048 RAF Age 37
Nav: P/O George Charles William Parslow DFM 146687 RAFVR Age 21
Air/Bmr: F/O John Brian Godfrey Bailey DFC 48551 RAF Age 22
W/Op/Air/Gnr: W/O2 Herman Stanley Fawns R/93489 RCAF Age 25
Air/Gnr: F/O Bruce Samuel Fudge J/17663 RCAF Age 21
I found a document a few years ago on the Internet, translated from German, about the recovery of the plane and bodies on the ocean shore in German held territory. Bodies were identified by their tags. I will try to find it again for your documentation. Stanley Fawns was my father's step-brother.