W7850
Crashes > of the R.A.F.
The Halifax W7850 was returning from the bombing raid on Cologne when it came into the range of several anti-aircraft batteries* near Mönchengladbach.
It was hit, caught fire and crashed near Rördorf, a small town near Linnich. Six crew members could only be recovered dead from the wreckage and were buried in the central cemetery in Mönchen Gladbach.
One of the dead was Sgt Bernard William Vaughan, who at 43 was well above the average age of the airmen deployed. He was posthumously awarded the DFM (Distinguished Flying Medal) on 6 November 1942 for outstanding bravery and devotion to flying.
Sgt Vaughan had lost his wife of 29 years and both children, aged five and six, in a German bombing raid on Birmingham on 11 December 1940. His brother Reginald was also killed in a German bombing raid in 1941.
Additional information:
*According to available anti-aircraft records, the aircraft was shot at by four different anti-aircraft batteries at 21:50 and brought down.
However, Theo Boiten (Nachtjagd Combat Archiv 1942/ Volume 3) attributes the crash to Lt Hans Authenrieth , Stab II/NJG1.
Above:
The crash area of the Halifax II, W7850 near Rördorf
left:
The extract from the anti-aircraft diary of 15 October 1942 with the recorded launch near Rördorf.
Source:
Federal Archives RL5/ 1459, S. 438