LEST WE FORGET
Flight Sergeant William Frederick ALLSOPP
Service No: 408558
Born: Heathcote VIC, 21 October 1918
Enlisted in the RAAF: 27 April 1941
Unit: No. 460 Squadron, RAF Station Breighton, Yorkshire
Died: Air Operations: (No. 460 Squadron Lancaster aircraft ED521), France, 9 April 1943, Aged 24 Years
Buried: Unrecovered
CWGC Additional Information: Son of William Henry and Maude Blanch Allsopp, of Yarraville, Victoria, Australia
Roll of Honour: Unknown
Remembered: Panel 192, Runnymede Memorial, Surrey UK
Remembered: Panel 106, Commemorative Area, Australian War Memorial, Canberra ACT
Date: 9-10 April 1943
Target: Duisberg
Total Force: Dispatched – 109, Attacking – 99
RAAF Force: No. 460 Dispatched – 8, Attacking – 8; No. 467 Dispatched – 7, Attacking – 6
Tons of Bombs Dropped: 321
Total Aircraft Lost: 8
RAAF Aircraft Lost: No. 460 – 1
The first two of these raids (March 26-27, April 8-9) had disappointing results, both being launched above cloud with the aid of scattered sky markers. Fairly satisfactory bombing was reported by the small force sent on 9th-10th April but the opportunity for a heavy concentrated blow did not come until 26th-27th April when there was little or no cloud over the target and when a record number (221) of 4,000-lb bombs was dropped.
Extracts from Herington, J. (John) (406545) Air War Against Germany and Italy 1939-1943, Australian War Memorial, Canberra, 1954 – Pages 483, 484
Lancaster ED521 took off from RAF Breighton at 2044 hours on 9 April 1943 to attack Duisberg, Germany. The bomb load was 1 x 4000 lb (pound) (1,800 kg) bomb, 48 x 30 lb (14 kg) and 540 x 4 (2 kg) lb incendiaries. Nothing was heard from the aircraft after take off and it did not return to base. Nine aircraft from the squadron took part in the raid. No trace of the missing aircraft or crew was found following post war enquiries.
The crew members of ED521 were:
Flight Sergeant William Frederick Allsopp (408558) (Air Gunner)
Flight Sergeant John Henry Dodgshun (400698) (Navigator)
Sergeant James Lowrie Forrest (401688) (Air Bomber)
Sergeant Mark Hoofe (982209) (RAFVR) (Air Gunner)
Flight Sergeant William Frederick Jones (650318) (RAF) (Wireless Operator Air Gunner)
Pilot Officer Donald Ian MacDonald (405593) (Pilot)
Sergeant Allan Keith Meadows (8939) (Flight Engineer)
References:
Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour On-Line Records (RAAF Casualty Information compiled by Alan Storr (409804))
Commonwealth War Graves Commission On-Line Records
Department of Veteran’s Affairs On-Line WWII Nominal Roll
National Archives of Australia On-Line Record A705, 166/3/41
Bibliography:
Firkins, P. C. (Peter Charles) (441386) Strike and Return, Westward Ho Publishing City Beach WA, 1985