Info - Charles O'Connor RCAF 50 Squadron

Hi,

I am looking for information regarding a Great Uncle who flew with 50 Squadron, RCAF Flight Sergeant (Bm. Aim) Charles Joseph O'Connor (R/145478). Charles was killed in a night bombing mission July7/8 1944 targeting St. Leu d'Esserent, France (V-1 rocket storage caves). His Lancaster (DV227) was shot down near Rederie (Oise) France. Charles and his crew are buried at the Moliens Communal Cemetery, France.

I would be extremely grateful to learn more of his final mission and/or of any personal recollections of Charles in training and/or combat (Canada, RAF Skellingthorpe UK) e.g.

- any photos of squadron and/or Charles
- eye witness accounts of mission and/or his aircraft
- did DV227 reach target on final mission
- aircraft/pilot claiming attack

The other airmen killed were:

Sgt (Pilot) Edgar Charles Prytherch Lloyd
Sgt (Flt. Eng) George Henry Tucker
F/S (Nav.) Clifford Jackson
F/S (W. Op/A. Gnr) Eric John Walter Stirling (RNZAF)
Sgt. (A. Gnr) Kenneth George Alsopp
Sgt. (A. Gnr) George Albert Higgins

Thanks in advance for any help - interesting number of similar requests searching for information on Great Uncles having served in Bomber Command.

Regards,

Brian Olson

brianolson81@yahoo.com

 

here's a link that might be of interest..
RAF-lincolnshire.info :: 50 Squadron

 

Military service of the Kiwi w/op on this crew:

Eric John Walter STIRLING - Stirling - Family History & Genealogy Message Board - Ancestry.co.uk

Most airmen crewed up at OTU so it may be that your great uncle and Warrant Officer Stirling met in October of 1943.

If you don't have your great uncle's flying log the sorties flown previous to his loss are given.

 

The war time memories project is trying to get information and stories about 50 Sqdn and this crew in particular.
The Wartime Memories Project - No: 50 Squadron

Lost Bomber info: Lost Bombers - World War II Lost Bombers

An analysis of this mission, which lost 32 out of 221 aircraft: http://pagesperso-orange.fr/redtarget/78%20july%201944.htm
- click on the aircraft number to access headstone images of their graves.

 

Hi Brian, according to Marcel Mavré's book "La guerre 39-45 dans le Ciel de L'Oise" it was shot down by a nightfigter and crashed around 02.05 . The crew is buried at Moliens .

The exact crash place at Dargies is at Rederie, at a place called "le pont rouge"

 

All,

Very helpful - much more info than I thought possible in such a short time! Thank you! I'm seriously considering a side visit on my next European business travels to visit the grave and crash site, perhaps even finding some living eyewitnesses.

I was inspired by a similar idea I found on the bombercrew forum site:

Remembering crew of KB755 VR-F - Bombercrew.com Forum

Ironically, I have a life-long pen pal who has lived within a 5 to 10 miles of St. Leu d'Esserent. They've always known about a relative of mine who fought in WW2 - they'll be especially touched to learn he flew Lancasters and was killed nearby.

 

Who shot down Lancaster DV227

In was impressed to see the wealth of information related to the German night fighter wings, especially the recorded victories - unfortunately, I wasn't able to find a likely match with the account of my Great Uncle's Lancaster and his final mission. Does anyone know the German night fighter wing or possibly the pilot claiming the kill for his plane? If not, is there any evidence of a mid-air collision that could have brought the plane down instead? Secondly, is their evidence to suggest the plane reached its target before crashing? Again, the details are:

Aircraft; Lancaster DV227
Date/Time: 02:05, July 8, 1944
Mission: St Leu d'Esserent, France (V1 flying bomb depot)
Crash site: Rederie (Oise) approx. 5 km NNE of Grandvilliers (Dargies, "le pont rouge") France

Thanks, Brian