Flight Lieutenant Christopher John Geoffrey Howard

Lancaster LM482 – KC-Q – No.617 Squadron RAF – Airborne 13:00 on 7 Oct 1944 from Woodhall Spa to breach the Kembs Dam on the Rhine, inside Germany, just below Basel, Switzerland. Tallboy failed to release on the first run and the aircraft were seen to position for a second run-in. Hit by light Flak and crashed 17:05 (local) at Märkt, just S of Efringen-Kirchen, a village just inside Germany and about 8 km SSE of the target and an equal distance NNW from the Swiss town of Basel. All are buried in the Durnbach War Cemetery.

F/L C.J.G.Howard 104406 RAFVR (Pilot) killed

F/L Howard was the third son of the Hon. Geoffrey William Algernon Howard. P/O Lucan had served previously with 207 Sqdn and details of his DFM were gazetted 14 Sep 1943. The last three named were flying as Air Gunners, F/O Watkins being ex-50 Sqdn, his DFC being gazetted as recently as 19 Sep 1944.

http://www.lostaircraft.com/database.php?lang=en&e=5807&mode=viewentry http://raf.durham-light-infantry.ch/index.php?option=com_content&vi... http://www.specialforcesroh.com/roll-19889.html http://www.memorials.inportsmouth.co.uk/war-graves/durnbach/index.htm http://thepeerage.com/p1303.htm#i13022