Clemenhagen, Thomas Frederick
Personal Information
Rank | Sgt |
Forename(s) | Thomas Frederick |
Surname | Clemenhagen |
Gender | M |
Age | 29 |
Decorations | |
Date of Death | 22-10-1943 |
Next of Kin | Son of John Henry Franklin Clemenhagen and Nettie May Gordon Clemenhagen, of Brantford, Ontario, Canada. Husband of Hazel Mae Clemenhagen, of Brantford. |
Aircraft Information
Aircraft | Handley Page Halifax V |
Serial Number | LK908 |
Markings | NA-I |
Memorial Information
Burial/Memorial Country | United Kingdom |
Burial/Memorial Place | Cambridge City Cemetery |
Grave Reference | Grave 13923. |
Epitaph | REST IN PEACE |
IBCC Memorial Information
Phase | 2 |
Panel Number | 145 |
Enlistment Information
Service Number | R/169994 |
Service | Royal Canadian Air Force |
Group | 6 |
Squadron | 428 (Ghost) |
Trade | Air Gunner |
Country of Origin | Canada |
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 |
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
The National Archives
Last Operation Information
Start Date | 22-10-1943 |
End Date | 23-10-1943 |
Takeoff Station | Middleton St. George |
Day/Night Raid | Night (32% moon) |
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 | Hit by flak, killing Sgt Clemenhagen. Landed successfully at Snetterton Heath airfield on return |