25-31 May 1943

Overview

A busy week for 12 Sqn, with attacks on Dusseldorf, Essen and Wuppertal and loss of 2 aircraft and 13 aircrew in those aircraft.

There were a number of issues with oxygen supplies in aircraft during each of these operations, with one crew member dying due to anoxia, his death only being discovered on the aircraft landing; a rear gunner’s oxygen supply being cut off and the flight engineer, being sent to assist with a portable oxygen bottle, passed out when his supply ran out; 2 aircraft aborting their missions, one due to the pilot being asleep due to oxygen loss and the other due to the supply to the whole aircraft not working. Oxygen was needed above about 12,000 feet and the supply could be interrupted for a number of reasons as it flowed through pipes running throughout the aircraft. It was also the ground crew’s responsibility to fill the main oxygen tank and it was not unknown for this to be missed during preparation of the aircraft for missions, sometimes in a short time frame.

Extract from Station Diary

More information about the loss of Flt Lt Goudge’s aircraft and the crew can be found at the following website – https://aircrewremembered.com/goudge-ivor.html

Extract from Appendix to 12 Sqn Operation Record Book