Henry Albert Thomas

Lancaster PA214 (Flt. Lieut. Bell), 227 Squadron, took off from RAF Balderton at 1705 hrs, to bomb the Wintershall Synthetic Oil Plant.

The aircraft was intercepted and shot down at 23.15 by a Ju 88 night fighter piloted by Hptm. Gerhard Friedrich NJG6, killing all the crew.

Most of the crew had been involved in a serious landing accident on return from Sassnitz a week previously.

Henry was buried in Durnbach War Cemetery (Coll. Grave 9.F.5-7)

The other seven members of the crew are buried in the same cemetery:
143283 Flt. Lieut. Matthew William Bell, RAFVR (Grave ref. 9.F.4)
190988 P/O Peter Thomas Edwards, RAFVR (Coll. Grave 9.F.5-7)
153497 F/O Gerald Francis Orry, RAFVR (Coll. Grave 9.F.5-7)
134762 Flt. Lieut. Stanley Thomas Rouse, RAFVR (Coll. Grave 9.F.5-7)
160198 F/O Leonard Sidney Smith, RAFVR (Grave ref. 9.F.1)
1802383 Flt. Sgt. George Forster Constable Stephenson, RAFVR (Grave ref. 9.F.1)
1805639 Flt. Sgt. Raymond Cecil Stanley Wells, RAFVR (Grave 9.F.2)

The other members of the crew are commemorated on the RAF Balderton Memorial and also this Roll of Honour.

CWGC: no personal details.

Gerhard Freidrich (Nachtjagdgeschwader 6). b. 1917 k. 16 March 1945. Claimed 30 air victories, including three Lancasters on the night 14/15 March 1945, He was awarded the Knights Cross (15 March 1945). Freidrich was flying a Junkers Ju88 (G-6) over the area of Stuttgart on 16/17 March 1945 when he fired at a Lancaster (PB785, 576 Sqdn); his aircraft was destroyed in the explosion when the Lancaster’s bomb load detonated. Freidrich, his two crew and the seven crew of the Lancaster were all killed. (forum.axishistory.com and other sources)

Additional research, record updated (RF, Oct. 2026)