Description
1939-45 Star, Aircrew Europe Star, War Medal, Defence Medal, Pilot Officer A.E.B. Freeman, 166 Squadron, Royal Air Force, Shot down over Munchengladbach and killed on 31st August 1943 at the age of 21.
In WW2 Air Ministry card case of issue sent to his father, “Wm C. Freeman Esq, 41 Cadbury Road, Moseley, Birmingham, 13.”
With named RAF condolence slip.
Pilot Officer Albert Eric Barley Freeman 414990, was aboard Wellington Mk X LN397 with 4 other Airman, he was the plane’s Navigator, Piloted by Flying Officer E.J. Cook, With Wireless Operator Sgt P.T. Davies, Air Bomber Sgt S.E. Baber & Sgt R.G. Blood as Rear Gunner.
They took off on 30th August 1943, tasked with bombing Munchengladbach in Germany, but the plane was lost, likely shot down by anti aircraft, the whole crew died and they are commemorated on Panels at the Runnymede Memorial, the whole crew was 21 years old apart from P. Davies who was 20.
He had only been commissioned as a Pilot Officer on 13th April 1943, announced in the London Gazette on 25th May 1943.
During the raid 166 Squadron lost 2 aircraft, they were the last losses on their 9 months of Operational flights, in this time the Squadron had lost 46 Wellingtons, the highest losses of this type by any front-line Bomber Command unit during 1943.
RAF Report of the raid:
30/31st August 1943 – 660 Aircraft, 297 Lancasters, 185 Halifaxes, 107 Stirlings, 57 Wellingtons, 14 Mosquitos, were tasked to carry out a double attack on Monchengladbach and Rheydt. The visibility was good and the Oboe-assisted marking of both targets was described in Bomber Command’s records as a ‘model’ of good Pathfinder marking. The bombing was very concentrated with little creepback.
The raid was not successful, there was some cloud in the target area; this, together with difficulties with H2S equipment and probably the ferocity of the German defences, all combined to cause the Pathfinder markers to be dropped well south of the centre of the target area and the Main Force bombing to be even further away. The main bombing area eventually extended 30 miles back along the bombers’ approach route. After this raid, Gauletier Goebbels ordered the evacuation from Berlin of all children and all adults not engaged in war work to country areas or to towns in Eastern Germany where air raids were not expected.
47 AIrcraft – 20 Halifaxes, 17 Stirlings, 10 Lancasters – all lost, 1.6% total of the force.
The Stirling casualties were 16%, Approximately two thirds of the bombers lost were shot down by German fighters operating over or near Berlin. The use of ‘fighter flares’, dropped by German Aircraft to mark the bomber routes into and away from the target, was noted for the first time in Bomber Commands records.
