Flying Officer Brendan Clitheroe, D.F.C., 297 Squadron

[dbf]

Flying Officer B. Clitheroe was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross.

This officer is an exceptionally keen, skilful and reliable operational navigator. In July, 1942, he was detailed to attack the shipbuilding yards at Danzig. Despite exceptional conditions of cloud and severe icing, Flying Officer Clitheroe succeeded in locating the target, which was successfully bombed from 1,000 feet. The success of this sortie was due almost entirely to this officer’s skill as navigator, his perseverance and determination. He was later reported missing, presumed dead.

He was born in Dublin.

London Gazette:
7 April 1942
http://www.london-gazette.co.uk/issues/35515/pages/1562
3 November 1942
http://www.london-gazette.co.uk/issues/35773/supplements/4808

Distinguished Flying Cross.
Flying Officer Brendan CLITHEROE (116125), Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, No. 207 Squadron.

http://www.cwgc.org/search/certificate.aspx?casualty=2035680
Flying Officer BRENDAN CLITHEROE D F C 116125, 207 Sqdn., Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve who died on 12 March 1943
Remembered with honour REICHSWALD FOREST WAR CEMETERY
Grave/Memorial Reference: 30. A. 2.


See this thread for ref:
www.ww2talk.com/forum/research-material/19413-volunteers-eire-who-have-won-distinctions.html#post195852

[Peter Clare]

12-13 March 1943

No.207 Squadron
Lancaster I ED604 EM-A
Op: Essen.

Crew.
F/O. M E. Doble DFC +
Sgt. A. Garden +
F/O. B. Clitheroe DFC +
P/O. I A H. Linklater DFM +
Sgt. B L. Litolff +
F/S. T J. Walker +
F/S. R S. Carr DFM +

Took off 1923 hrs from Langer. crashed near Bottrop, where all were buried in the Parkfriedhof. their graves are now in the Reichswald Forest War Cemetery. Both recipients of the DFM had their awards Gazetted on 6 November 1942.

BCL Vol.4 W R. Chorley.



Essen 12-13 March 1943


457 aircraft - 158 Wellingtons, 156 Lancaster’s, 91 Halifax’s. 42 Stirlings 10 Mosquitoes. 23 aircraft - 8 Lancasters, 7 Halifax’s, 6 Wellingtons. 2 Stirlings lost 5.0 per cent of the force.

This was another very successful Oboe -marked raid. The area was right across the giant Krupps factory, just west of the city centre with later bombing drifting back to the north-western outskirts. Photographic interpretation assessed that Krupps received 30 per cent more damage on this night than on the earlier successful raid of 5/6 March. Nearly 500 houses were also destroyed in the raid. The number of people killed is variously reported between 169 and 322 with 198 probably being the most accurate figure, made up of 64 men. 45 women, 19 children, 4 soldiers, 61 foreign workers and 5 prisoners of war

German records say that one third of the bombs dropped on this night did not hit Essen and that 39 people were killed in other towns with Bottrop just north of Essen being the worst hit, but these towns were all close to Essen and there was often no clear division between overlapping built-up areas.


Bomber Command War Diaries - Middlebrook / Everitt