Westrope, Richard Strickland
Personal Information
Rank | Sgt |
Forename(s) | Richard Strickland |
Surname | Westrope |
Gender | M |
Age | 21 |
Decorations | |
Date of Death | 29-07-1944 |
Next of Kin | Son of Herbert John Wright Westrope and Agnes Lilian Westrope, of Husborne Crawley, Bedfordshire. |
Aircraft Information
Aircraft | Handley Page Halifax VII |
Serial Number | NP716 |
Markings | EQ-P |
Memorial Information
Burial/Memorial Country | Germany |
Burial/Memorial Place | Kiel War Cemetery |
Grave Reference | 1. J. 6. |
Epitaph | HIS SMILE WILL BID US WELCOME AS WE TAKE THE ROAD HE TROD |
IBCC Memorial Information
Phase | 2 |
Panel Number | 262 |
Enlistment Information
Service Number | 1863967 |
Service | Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve |
Group | 6 |
Squadron | 408 (Goose) |
Trade | Flight Engineer |
Country of Origin | United Kingdom |
Other Memorials
Location | Village Centre, Linton on Ouse, North Yorkshire |
Country | United Kingdom |
Memorial Type | Stone Memorial and inscribed slate tablet |
Memorial Text | In memory of 408 (Goose) and 426 (Thunderbird) Squadrons of R.C.A.F |
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
Fellow Servicemen
Last Operation Information
Start Date | 28-07-1944 |
End Date | 29-07-1944 |
Takeoff Station | Linton-on-Ouse |
Day/Night Raid | Night (56% moon) |
Operation | Hamburg. 307 aircraft. German night-fighters appeared on the return leg leading to 22 losses (7.2%). This was the first raid on Hamburg for a year and was not well concentrated. The Germans were unable to determine the aiming point from the bombing results. Most of the bombs fell on areas devastated during 1943. |
Reason for Loss | Shot down by night fighter pilot Leutnant Rolf Ebhardt of 8./NJG 1. Crashed close to Heide, Germany. Ebhardt made three claims on this night. |