Pratt, Henry John
Personal Information
Rank | F/S |
Forename(s) | Henry John |
Surname | Pratt |
Gender | M |
Age | 20 |
Decorations | |
Date of Death | 06-09-1943 |
Next of Kin | Son of Thomas Edward and Rebecca Mary Pratt, of Mile End, London. |
Aircraft Information
Aircraft | Handley Page Halifax II |
Serial Number | JB872 |
Markings | EY-Q |
Memorial Information
Burial/Memorial Country | France |
Burial/Memorial Place | Choloy War Cemetery |
Grave Reference | Coll. grave 2. E. 1-7. |
Epitaph | FOR FAITH, LIBERTY AND TRUTH HE OFFERED UP HIS STALWART YOUTH |
IBCC Memorial Information
Phase | 2 |
Panel Number | 228 |
Enlistment Information
Service Number | 1390630 |
Service | Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve |
Group | 4 |
Squadron | 78 |
Trade | Air Gunner |
Country of Origin | United Kingdom |
Other Memorials
Location | Adjacent to Clubhouse, Breighton Airfield, East Yorkshire |
Country | United Kingdom |
Memorial Type | Inscribed Marble Tablet |
Memorial Text | Dedicated to all who served at this airfield and gave their lives during World War II |
Location | External, All Saints Church, Bubwith, East Yorkshire |
Country | United Kingdom |
Memorial Type | Stone Memorial, inscribed Metal Plaque |
Memorial Text | 78 Sqn 4 Group Bomber Command Yorkshire 1939 - 1945 To All Who Served |
Location | Internal, All Saints Church, Bubwith, East Yorkshire |
Country | United Kingdom |
Memorial Type | Inscribed Wooden Board, Memorial Chapel featuring Cross made from Halifax wreckage |
Memorial Text | The 78 Sqn Memorial in the Churchyard was dedicated by the Bishop of Selby on 7th September 1986. RAF Breighton, two miles from this church was the Sqn's home from June 1943 to May 1945 |
Location | Outside "B" Hangar, RAF Benson, Oxfordshire |
Country | United Kingdom |
Memorial Type | Memorial Stone & Inscribed Slate Plaque |
Memorial Text | In proud memory of all who have lost their lives serving with 78 Sqn Royal Air Force "Nemo Non Paratus - Nobody Unprepared" |
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
The National Archives
Record of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/660/78 |
Summary of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/660/77 |
Fellow Servicemen
Last Operation Information
Start Date | 05-09-1943 |
End Date | 06-09-1943 |
Takeoff Station | Breighton |
Day/Night Raid | Night (34% moon) |
Operation | Mannheim/ Ludwigshafen. 605 aircraft, 34 losses (5.6%). Clear conditions- PFF marking plan worked perfectly. The main force approached from the west so that they could bomb Mannheim first and then move on to Ludwigshafen. Little creepback took place and much damage was caused to both targets. The normally detailed report from Mannheim was much less so, suggesting that the raid was so severe that the normal information gathering procedures has broken down amidst the destruction. Ludwigshafen described the raid simply as 'a catastrophe'. In the latter, 1080 dwellings, 6 military buildings and 4 industrial buildings were destroyed. The death toll was relatively low for such a large raid- 127- perhaps indicating that much of the city's population had been evacuated in the wake of the firestorm incident in Hamburg. |
Reason for Loss | Badly shot about by a night-fighter prior to bombing. The pilot decided to continue on course but dropped his bomb load short of the target. On return leg at 16000', both port engines cut out and the aircraft spun out of control and crashed at St Hilaire le Grand, France |