| Aircraft | Handley Page Halifax V |
| Serial Number | LK959 |
| Markings | ZL-D |
| Burial/Memorial Country | Netherlands |
| Burial/Memorial Place | Bergen-op-Zoom War Cemetery |
| Grave Reference | Coll. grave 23. C. 1.. |
| Epitaph | LOVE'S GREATEST GIFT, REMEMBRANCE |
| Phase | 2 |
| Panel Number | 262 |
| Service Number | J/22671 |
| Service | Royal Canadian Air Force |
| Group | 6 |
| Squadron | 427 (Lion) |
| Trade | Pilot |
| Country of origin if different | Canada |
| Aitken G E (F/S) |
| Crain W G (F/S) |
| Hopson S H (Sgt) |
| Lapointe J O A (F/S) |
| Maudling P H (Sgt) |
| McDermott E T (P/O) |
| Oakley C E (F/O) |
| Start Date | 22-10-1943 |
| End Date | 23-10-1943 |
| Takeoff Station | Leeming |
| Day/Night raid | Night |
| Operation | Kassel. 569 aircraft, 43 losses (7.6%), due to the German controller correctly assessing that the raid was on Kassel. Blind H2S marking overshot the target but 8 out of 9 visual markers were accurate. German decoy markers drew off some of the main force but otherwise the raid was exceptionally accurate and concentrated leading to a firestorm. Over 26000 homes were destroyed and a further 26000 damaged. Some 63% of housing in the city became unusable, resulting in 100-120,000 people being displaced. The number of industrial, public and military buildings destroyed are too numerous to list Of particular note, however, was that the railway system was badly damaged and the three Henschel factories which produced the V1 bomb were all seriously damaged. This certainly pegged back the V1 deployment capability significantly. The number of dead was around 5600 |
| Reason for Loss | Crashed behind a farm at Groenstraat 25 in Achtmaal which is locally known as Ostaaijen, SE of Roosendaal, Holland |