H R Woodard's operations with 104 Squadron

H R Woodard's operations with 104 Squadron

Brief account of H R Woodard's operations with 104 Squadron from the first on 13 September 1944 until the last on 4 February 1945. Includes reference to misspelling of his surname and names of his regular aircrew. Final operation with LP 549 was to Italian partisans in "Area Crayon" but aircraft crashed near Lake Lesina in Puglia. Crew were buried in military cemetery in Bari.

One typewritten sheet

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[underlined] H. R. Woodard [/underlined]

First operation with No. 104 squadron recorded in the F 541 was on the 13th. September 1944 (entered as H.R. Woodward: there had been a J. Woodward on the squadron, killed on the 19th July 1944 when the Wimpey he was in crashed shortly after take-off and the 4000 lb Bomb on board exploded). Woodard first flew with a Sgt. Bird and the spelling of his name was corrected in the entry on the 21st September only to lapse again, to Woodward, on the 10th October. However it was eventually corrected and remained so until the end. His last operation was on the 4th February 1945 in Wellington Mk. X LP 549 “C” (probably EP – C). The crew with whom he had flown on many operations were: F. Sgt. N. R. Daynes Captain, Sgt. L. Smith Navigator, F. Sgt. H. R. Woodard WOPAG, F. Sgt. B. M. Chappell and F. Sgt. A. M. Scott. The crew, together with others from the Squadron, had been detailed to fly a supply drop to Partisans in “Area Crayon” however those who returned reported that the D. Z. was obscured by low cloud. LP 549 did not return from the mission and the wreckage was later found near Lake Lesina and all five men had been killed in the crash. They were buried in the Military Cemetery at Bari.