Bates, David Henderson
Personal Information
Rank | F/S |
Forename(s) | David Henderson |
Surname | Bates |
Gender | M |
Age | |
Decorations | |
Date of Death | 30-07-1943 |
Next of Kin | Son of Franklin Richard and Effie Corine Henderson Bates, of St. George, Utah, U.S.A. School Teacher. |
Aircraft Information
Aircraft | Handley Page Halifax V |
Serial Number | DK239 |
Markings | NA-Q |
Memorial Information
Burial/Memorial Country | Germany |
Burial/Memorial Place | Becklingen War Cemetery |
Grave Reference | 14. C. 13. |
Epitaph | HE WAS LOVED BY HIS FAMILY AND FRIENDS AND WAS AN EXAMPLE OF GOODNESS TO ALL |
IBCC Memorial Information
Phase | 2 |
Panel Number | 128 |
Enlistment Information
Service Number | R/131551 |
Service | Royal Canadian Air Force |
Group | 6 |
Squadron | 428 (Ghost) |
Trade | Pilot |
Country of Origin | United States of America |
Other Memorials
Location | Adjacent to fomer St. Georges Hotel, Teesside Airport, County Durham |
Country | United Kingdom |
Memorial Type | Memorial Stone with inscribed slate tablets |
Memorial Text | Dedicated to all who served on 428 (RCAF) Sqn at Middleton St. George during WWII, especially those who made the supreme sacrifice |
Miscellaneous Information
A schoolmaster in Utah in civilian life |
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
The National Archives
Record of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/1849/14 |
Summary of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/1849/13 |
Fellow Servicemen
Last Operation Information
Start Date | 29-07-1943 |
End Date | 30-07-1943 |
Takeoff Station | Middleton St. George |
Day/Night Raid | Night (4% moon) |
Operation | Hamburg. 787 aircraft, 17 losses (2.2%). For the second consecutive raid, Brig. Gen. Anderson, the commander of the American 8th Air Force, flew as an observer on this operation. PFF used H2S to mark the target but were approximately 3km east of the centre of the city but was at least concentrated, leading to concentrated bombing with little creepback. This raid caused a firestorm resulting from very high summer temperatures and low humidity following a particularly dry spell. Most of the fire crews were in the west of the city following the raid of three nights earlier and few could make the journey to the new fires due to rubble blocking roads. The fires quickly joined into one mass of fire, drawing so much oxygen into the area that it caused storm-force winds. The fire raged for over three hours after the raid and only subsided when all combustible material was consumed. Approximately 40000 civilian deaths mostly from asphyxiation resulting from lack of oxygen. The raid led to an exodus of over 1.2 million people fearing another raid. |
Reason for Loss | Shot down by flak and crashed at Klecken, south of Harburg. |