419 Squadron RCAF 1941 to 1945 Crew of Halifax JD143

Crew of Halifax JD143

The crew of P/O Boyce, Navigator F/O Black, B/A F/O Buck, WAG Sgt. Chambers, F/E Sgt. Stewart, A/G Sgt. Gray and A/G Sgt. Hall, were in for a rough start with their new squadron. It would be midway through April before the crew would be clear of the incidents that had plagued them since their arrival at 419 Squadron in February.
Their first squadron operational sortie was going well through the start up right through to taking off. It was after the aircraft was already airborne that it was realized they were missing the wireless operator.
Somehow in the eagerness to me on their first operation and even with all the checks and balances of the takeoff procedure, it failed to show that the wireless operator was still back on the ground.
P/O Boyce then had to jettison his bomb load and use up fuel to bring the Halifax back to a weight suitable to land safely. The consequences of the event were not reported on any available documents.
The very next operation would place P/O Boyce in a situation where he had to make a decision again to jettison his bomb load. While crossing the Channel his port outer engine had to be feathered and the Halifax was unable to maintain altitude with the current loads on board. So once more the crew headed back to base. The crew must have felt some kind of inner pressure to break this bad luck and as the squadron's operations in March came to a close the crew would have seemed to finally break the trend, with two successful operations finally behind them on the nights of March 26/27 and 28/29th .

The Trend Returns

The very next, their fifth operation, would again not be completed because of mechanical problems with the aircraft, in this incident it was the starboard inner engine which failed. Again the return to base after jettisoning his bomb load.
April 10/11 found Boyce and his crew in the dangerous situation of circling the target area for about 20 minutes, until they finally gave up waiting for the marker flares to be seen as they tried to locate the target. Boyce decided to drop his bomb load in what he described as the center of the defenses.
For the next six operations Boyce's crew completed their assigned operations successfully, and Boyce and his men made it a point to give full details on defense strengths, target hits and other information vital to the intelligence officers at the debriefings on their return.

June 12th 1943 - Dusseldorf

The squadron had been in stand down for the first weeks of June and it was not until the night of June 11/12 that orders came for 419 to supply 17 aircraft as part of a 780 plus bomber raid on Dusseldorf.
For the squadron it was becoming a bad show, first one of the aircraft was unable to be start its engines, then one returned with engine failure and a little later four others returned due to heavy icing. The other eleven Halifax including JD143 with Boyce and his crew continued on to the target.

After completing their bombing run the aircraft were to alter course at point set out on the charts designated as "D" which was 10 miles from Dusseldorf. Halifax JD143 altered it's course as per these instructions it was here that they were caught up in the glare of the master searchlight. The other search lights then coned in on the blue light shone on the aircraft by the Master. With the Halifax set up in the cones of the fifteen lights the ground defences could calculate the height and speed of the aircraft from the data sent back from each searchlights set angles.

The Order to Bail Out

In what must have seemed a longer period of time as F/O Boyce and his crew waiting for the inevitable flak to start, then the first shell hit below the nose of JD143 within minutes. The coneing had proved accurate, three of the crew were wounded, all in the middle section or the nose. The Navigator F/O Black, the Bomb Aimer F/O Buck and WAG Sgt. Chambers who seemingly the worst of the three with wounds to the head.
Chambers made it back to the small rest area, perhaps with the aid of one of the others. Other flak or fragments of the initial hit punched holes in the port wing and knocked out the port outer engine. The engine's fuel caught fire which then erupted into a fire ball. As related by the survivors as they told the story later, the Halifax dove seemingly out of control. Boyce as he the F/E Sgt. Stewart fought to gain control gave a standby to bail out, then his and the F/E actions allowed the for the regaining control of JD143 and the order was quickly cancelled.
Damage to the port wing was beginning to show such that Boyce then made the decision for everyone to bail out, the fear of losing the port wing brought about the reality that the aircraft could not get them home. The wounded Navigator and the two gunners went out the rear hatch, the F/E and the bomb aimer went out the front hatch. While the severely wounded Chambers had not jumped, his injuries keeping him from escaping. F/O Buck tried unsuccessfully to push Chambers out the hatch. By now the Halifax had fallen to 2,000 feet by Buck's estimate as he left the aircraft.

A Sacrifice for his crewman

Boyce let it be known that he was going to endeavor to land the stricken plane to give the wounded Chambers a better chance of survival. The Halifax was now too low for Boyce to escape and he went down with the aircraft.

During his debriefing by MI9 on his return to Britain after being liberated F/O Black stated:
"Although F/O Boyce had plenty of time to get out he stayed in order to give the wounded WAG Sgt. Chambers, a chance of survival in a forced landing. "

The Confusion of WO Tripps Escape

On this op. JD143 carried a 2nd. pilot WO Herbert Tripp, on his every first squadron op., the circumstances about what happened to WO Tripp are confusing because of two conflicting reports given by the crew survivors and German records.
It must be remembered that there was a lot going on in that dark and burning aircraft, although in control, it was still in danger of having the wing on the port side fail and everyone was moving about inside towards the escape hatches.
One other thing to take into consideration is that the reports on what happened that night were given almost two years later after the survivors had been liberated from their POW camps.
In Sgt. Stewart's report to MI9 he reported seeing the 2nd. pilot leave by the rear hatch. In Sgt. Gray's report he stated that Tripp had problems getting the forward hatch open and left by the rear hatch.
It is possible that WO Tripp found Sgt. Chambers and tried to get him to leave by the nearest hatch and then found himself in a situation where there was not enough height for him to jump and stayed with Boyce and Chambers.
There are no official reports from the German side or witnesses on the ground mentioning an airman killed in attempting a parachute jump from any aircraft. So what really happened will never be known.

WO Herbert Tripp

Tripp had enlisted in 1940 and trained as a pilot in Britain. WO Tripp had arrived at 419 almost a month earlier on May 15th from No. 1659 HCU the same unit Boyce and his crew had come from two months prior. During the last half of May there were no operations on which a 2nd. Pilot was assigned so Tripp had to wait until this first operation in June.

Number of Sorties

This was the crews thirteenth trip, they had three ops. where they had to return to base due to mechanical failure and other causes. They had completed only nine sorties towards their Tour completion, F/O Boyce had two addition sorties flown as 2nd. Pilot.

John Gray or Doug as he was called became a member of the Canadian 1985 Reunion Dedication Committee, he attended the 1985 Reunion -Dedication along with many former RCAF and RAF members who served at Middleton St. George

Crew of Halifax JD143

The Trend Returns

June 12th 1943 - Dusseldorf

The Order to Bail Out

A Sacrifice for his crewman

The Confusion of WO Tripps Escape

WO Herbert Tripp

Number of Sorties

Warrant Officer II

John Douglas Gray

Air Gunner Age 22
POW #10 Stalag Luft VI & 357
From Toronto Ontario

Flying Officer

William John Boyce

Pilot Age 26
Killed in Action June 12th 1943
From Vancouver B.C.
Burial Reichswald Forest War Cemetery
Original burials at Buderick Parish Cemetery, Kreis Moers, Germany
Boyce held a B. Sc. degree from University of British Columbia

Warrant Officer II

Herbert Andrew Tripp

2nd. Pilot Age 21
Killed in Action June 12th 1943
From London Ontario
Burial Reichswald Forest War Cemetery
Original burials at Buderick Parish Cemetery, Kreis Moers, Germany

Flying Officer

G.Lincoln "Lyn" Buck
RAF

Bomb Aimer
POW # 1611 Stalag Luft III

Sergeant

Donald Edward Cyril Chambers
RAF

WAG
Killed in Action June 12th 1943
From Not Known
Burial Reichswald Forest War Cemetery
Original burials at Buderick Parish Cemetery, Kreis Moers, Germany

Flight Officer

Duncan I Black RAF

Navigator
POW # 1488 Stalag Luft III

Sergeant

D. N. Stewart
RAF

Flight Engineer
POW # 21 Stalag Luft VI & 357

Pilot Officer

N. Hall

Airgunner MUG
POW # 156 Stalag Luft VI & 357

Crew of Halifax JD143

The Trend Returns

June 12th 1943 - Dusseldorf

The Order to Bail Out

A Sacrifice for his crewman

The Confusion of WO Tripps Escape

WO Herbert Tripp

Number of Sorties

Warrant Officer II

John Douglas Gray

Air Gunner Age 22 POW #10 Stalag Luft VI & 357 From Toronto Ontario

Flying Officer

William John Boyce

Pilot Age 26 Killed in Action June 12th 1943 From Vancouver B.C. Burial Reichswald Forest War Cemetery Original burials at Buderick Parish Cemetery, Kreis Moers, Germany Boyce held a B. Sc. degree from University of British Columbia

Warrant Officer II

Herbert Andrew Tripp

2nd. Pilot Age 21 Killed in Action June 12th 1943 From London Ontario Burial Reichswald Forest War Cemetery Original burials at Buderick Parish Cemetery, Kreis Moers, Germany

Flying Officer

G.Lincoln "Lyn" Buck RAF

Bomb Aimer POW # 1611 Stalag Luft III

Sergeant

Donald Edward Cyril Chambers RAF

WAG Killed in Action June 12th 1943 From Not Known Burial Reichswald Forest War Cemetery Original burials at Buderick Parish Cemetery, Kreis Moers, Germany

Flight Officer

Duncan I Black RAF

Navigator POW # 1488 Stalag Luft III

Sergeant

D. N. Stewart RAF

Flight Engineer POW # 21 Stalag Luft VI & 357

Pilot Officer

N. Hall

Airgunner MUG POW # 156 Stalag Luft VI & 357

Air Gunner Age 22
POW #10 Stalag Luft VI & 357
From Toronto Ontario

Pilot Age 26
Killed in Action June 12th 1943
From Vancouver B.C.
Burial Reichswald Forest War Cemetery
Original burials at Buderick Parish Cemetery, Kreis Moers, Germany
Boyce held a B. Sc. degree from University of British Columbia

2nd. Pilot Age 21
Killed in Action June 12th 1943
From London Ontario
Burial Reichswald Forest War Cemetery
Original burials at Buderick Parish Cemetery, Kreis Moers, Germany

G.Lincoln "Lyn" Buck
RAF

Bomb Aimer
POW # 1611 Stalag Luft III

Donald Edward Cyril Chambers
RAF

WAG
Killed in Action June 12th 1943
From Not Known
Burial Reichswald Forest War Cemetery
Original burials at Buderick Parish Cemetery, Kreis Moers, Germany

Navigator
POW # 1488 Stalag Luft III

D. N. Stewart
RAF

Flight Engineer
POW # 21 Stalag Luft VI & 357

Airgunner MUG
POW # 156 Stalag Luft VI & 357