Brown, Charles Bernard
Personal Information
Rank | Sgt |
Forename(s) | Charles Bernard |
Surname | Brown |
Gender | M |
Age | |
Decorations | |
Date of Death | 30-07-1943 |
Next of Kin | Son of Charles Bernard and Annie May Brown, of Blackpool, Lancashire. |
Aircraft Information
Aircraft | Short Stirling III |
Serial Number | EF407 |
Markings | BU-A |
Memorial Information
Burial/Memorial Country | United Kingdom |
Burial/Memorial Place | Runnymede Memorial |
Grave Reference | Panel 143. |
Epitaph |
IBCC Memorial Information
Phase | 2 |
Panel Number | 136 |
Enlistment Information
Service Number | 411576 |
Service | Royal Air Force |
Group | 3 |
Squadron | 214 (Federated Malay States) |
Trade | Air Gunner |
Country of Origin | United Kingdom |
Other Memorials
Location | Village Green, Chedburgh, Suffolk |
Country | United Kingdom |
Memorial Type | Brick Monument with Inscribed Marble Tablets |
Memorial Text | In memory and honour of the Royal Air Force and Polish Air Force Squadrons who were based at RAF Chedburgh 1942 - 1946 |
Location | All Saints Church, Chedburgh, Suffolk |
Country | United Kingdom |
Memorial Type | Memorial Plaques and RoH within wooden case |
Memorial Text | Roll of Honour and scroll remembering the members of the Royal and Polish Air Forces who served at RAF Chedburgh 1942 - 1946 |
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
The National Archives
Record of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/1322/14 |
Summary of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/1322/13 |
Fellow Servicemen
Last Operation Information
Start Date | 29-07-1943 |
End Date | 30-07-1943 |
Takeoff Station | Chedburgh |
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 | Believed shot down by night-fighter and crashed into the North Sea |