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HIGGINS FJ
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HIGGINS, Francis

Aircraft Information
Aircraft Handley Page Halifax V
Serial Number DK190
Markings ZL-
Memorial information
Burial/Memorial Country Netherlands
Burial/Memorial Place Gorssel General Cemetery
Grave Reference Row A. Grave 10..
Epitaph REST IN PEACE
IBCC Memorial Information
Phase 2
Panel Number 181
Enlistment information
Service Number R/98109
Service Royal Canadian Air Force
Group 6
Squadron 427 (Lion)
Trade Pilot
Country of origin if different Canada
Last Operation information
Start Date 25-06-1943
End Date 26-06-1943
Takeoff Station Leeming
Day/Night raid Night
Operation Gelsenkirchen. 473 aircraft, 30 losses (6.3%). The first raid in around two years on this Ruhr town. Cloud cover and unserviceable Oboe equipment in 5 of the 12 Mosquitoes meant that the target was not well marked. As a result the local report puts the number of buildings destroyed at just 24. 16 deaths on the ground. Some nearby towns were hit in error, particularly Solingen with more people being killed there than in Gelsenkirchen itself. A good illustration of the dependency on PFF marking for raid success.
Reason for Loss Shot down by a night-fighter and crashed at Gorssel, Holland