Anthony, Colin Richard

Dates:

War Service:
Colin Richard Anthony , Flight Sergeant (Air Gunner) Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve[service number 1809483) served in 576 Squadron He died 2 November 1944. His Avro Lancaster 'UL-B' took off from RAF Fiskerton at 1600 on 2 November 1944 to bomb Dusseldorf. It was one of two 576 Squadron Lancasters lost on this operation.

Location of Memorial:
He is commemorated on the South Suburban Gas Works War Memorial at Bell Green, Sydenham and in Rheinberg War Cemetery [11 D 14].

Details:
The RAF took part in the following raids over 2 November 1944:

1/2 November 1944
Oberhausen: 288 aircraft - 202 Halifaxes, 74 Lancasters, 12 Mosquitos - of 6 and 8 Groups. 3 Halifaxes and 1 Lancaster lost. The target area was cloud-covered and the bombing was not concentrated.

49 Mosquitos to Berlin, 12 to Cologne and 4 each to Karlsruhe and Mülheim, 28 RCM sorties, 46 Mosquito patrols, 25 aircraft on Resistance operations. No aircraft lost.

2 November 1944
184 Lancasters of No 3 Group carried out a G-H attack on the oil plant at Homberg. Large fires and a thick column of smoke were seen. 5 Lancasters lost.

2 Wellingtons flew RCM sorties without loss.

2/3 November 1944
992 aircraft - 561 Lancasters, 400 Halifaxes, 31 Mosquitos - dispatched to Düsseldorf. 11 Halifaxes and 8 Lancasters were lost, 4 of the losses being crashes behind Allied lines in France and Belgium. This heavy attack fell mainly on the northern half of Düsseldorf. More than 5,000 houses were destroyed or badly damaged. 7 industrial premises were destroyed and 18 were seriously damaged, including some important steel firms. This was the last major Bomber Command raid of the war on Düsseldorf.

42 Mosquitos to Osnabrück and 9 to Hallendorf (only 1 aircraft reached this target), 37 RCM sorties, 51 Mosquito patrols. No aircraft lost.

Total effort for the night: 1,131 sorties, 19 aircraft (1.7 per cent) lost.

Source:

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