Reginald LITTLEHALES

1910 - 1943  (33 years)

• Name	Reginald LITTLEHALES  [1]
  Born	1910	Cannock, Staffordshire   [1, 2]
  Gender	Male
  Military Service	3 Nov 1943  [1]
  	RAF Volunteer Reserve 625 Sqn Sgt Air Guuner 1268196
  Died	3 Nov 1943	Dusseldorf, Germany   [1]
  Buried	Reichswald Forest War Cemetery, Kleve, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany   [1]
  	Grave Ref: 6. G. 6.
  Person ID	I39	Littlehales
  Last Modified	30 Oct 2016

  
  

  Father	Joseph LITTLEHALES
  Mother	Annie
  Family ID	F1345	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	Katleen
  Last Modified	30 Oct 2016
  Family ID	F10	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Event Map		Born - 1910 - Cannock, Staffordshire Died - 3 Nov 1943 - Dusseldorf, Germany Buried - - Reichswald Forest War Cemetery, Kleve, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany  = Link to Google Earth
  Pin Legend	: Address       : Location       : City/Town       : County/Shire       : State/Province       : Country       : Not Set

  
  

• Notes

  LITTLEHALES, REGINALD. Sergeant (Air Gunner), 1268196. Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve. 625 Squadron, Royal Air Force. Died 3 November 1943. Aged 33. Son of Joseph and Annie Littlehales. Husband of Kathleen Littlehales of Lydden, Dover, Kent. Buried Reichswald Forest War Cemetery, Kleve, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany. Grave Ref: 6. G. 6. Lancaster bomber ED321 CF-V, flown by Flight Sergeant (Pilot), John G. Blackwood R.A.F. (V.R.) of Glasgow crashed over the target area at D?sseldorf, Germany, killing all the aircrafts seven crew including Reginald. At 1723 hours on 3 November 1943 the bomber took off from R.A.F. Kelstern, Lincolnshire, as part of a mixed bomber force of 589 aircraft, comprised of 344 Lancasters, 233 Halifaxes, and 12 Mosquitos. A total of 18 aircraft failed to return from the raid on D?sseldorf, they being 11 Lancasters and 7 Halifaxes. The main weight of the raid fell in the centre and south of the city with extensive damage both to housing and to industrial premises. 38 Lancaster II?s of Nos. 3 and 5 Groups made the first large-scale test of the G-H blind-bombing device and attempted to bomb the Mannesmann tubular-steel works on the northern outskirts of D?sseldorf while the main raid was taking place. Five had to return early and two others were lost; the equipment in 16 other aircraft failed to function leaving only 15 aircraft to actually bomb the factory on G-H. The device later became a most useful blind-bombing device when it was produced in sufficient numbers for a major part of Bomber Command to be fitted with it. Resulting from this raid Flight Lieutenant William Reid, R.A.F. (V.R.) of 61 Squadron, R.A.F. was awarded the Victoria Cross, it being amongst the 23 that were awarded to airmen of Bomber Command during the Second World War, many of which were posthumous awards. Badly wounded and with his Lancaster was badly damaged on the way to D?sseldorf, by a Focke-Wulf F.W-190, with dead and injured crew, he pressed on rather than taking the normal course of turning back, William Reid then bombed the target accurately, and then in a display of incredible flying managed to get his shattered bullet riddled aircraft back to Norfolk.

  
  

• Sources

  [S122] CWGC, http://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2056400/LITTLEHALES,%20REGINALD. [S76] http://www.mundia.com.au.