DFC Citation

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BAKER, F/L Gordon Stanley (J29073)

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Distinguished Flying Cross - No.582 Squadron

Award effective 8 September 1945 as per London Gazette dated 21 September 1945 and AFRO 1704/45 dated 9 November 1945. Born 1921 in Matador, Saskatchewan; home there; enlisted Saskatoon, 4 January 1941). Trained at No.1 ITS (graduated 20 February 1943), No.2 EFTS (graduated 17 April 1943) and No.12 SFTS (graduated 20 August 1943). Commissioned August 1943. Award presented 18 June 1949. No citation other than "completed...numerous operations against the enemy in the course of which [he has] invariably displayed the utmost fortitude, courage and devotion to duty." Public Records Office Air 2/8750 has recommendation dated 16 April 1945 when he had flown 42 sorties (211 hours 32 minutes), 12 August 1944 to 14 April 1945.

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"Flight Lieutenant Baker, as captain of a Visual Marker crew, has always pressed home his attacks with the greatest skill and determination. A keen operational pilot and an excellent captain, his example to his crew has been outstanding."

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12/13 August 1944

144 aircraft - 91 Lancasters, 36 Halifaxes, 12 Stirlings, 5 Mosquitos - bombed a German troop concentration and a road junction north of Falaise. The bombing was believed to have been very effective. No aircraft lost.

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25/26 August 1944

412 Lancasters ofNos 1, 3, 6 and 8 Groups attacked the Opel motor factory at Rilsselsreim. 15 Lancasters were lost, 3 .6 per cent of the force. The Pathfinder marking was accurate and the raid was successfully completed in 10 minutes. An official German report. says that the forge and the gearbox assembly departments were put out of action for several weeks, but 90 per cent of the machine tools in other departments escaped damage. The assembly line and part of the pressworks were able to recommence work 2 days later and lorry assembly was unaffected because of considerable stocks of ready­made parts.

Total effort for the night: 1,311 sorties, 25 aircraft ( 1. 9 per cent) lost and 8 more aircraft crashed in England, including 3 OTU Wellingtons from the diversionary sweep. The total effort for this night was a new record for Bomber Command, exceeding by exactly 100 the number of aircraft dispatched on 5/6 June, the eve of D-Day.

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29/30 August 1944

402 Lancasters and 1 Mosquito ofNos 1,3, 6 and 8 Groups ordered to Stettin. 23 Lancasters lost, 5.7 per cent of the force. This was a successful raid, hitting parts of Stettin which had escaped damage in previous attacks.

Total effort for the night: 873 sorties, 41 aircraft (4.7 per cent) lost.

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10 September 1944

992 aircraft - 521 Lancasters, 426 Halifaxes, 45 Mosquitos - attacked 8 different German strong points around Le Havre. Each target was separately marked by the Pathfinders and then accurately bombed. No aircraft lost.

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12/13 September 1944

378 Lancasters and 9 Mosquitos of Nos 1, 3 and 8 Groups on the last major RAF raid of the war against Frankfurt. 17 Lancasters lost, 4.5 per cent of the Lancaster force. The local report says that the raid occurred when many of the city's firemen and rescue workers were away working in Darmstadt. The bombing caused severe destruction in the western districts of the city, which contained many industrial premises. Property damage was extensive. A troop train was hit at the West Station.

204 Lancasters and 13 Mosquitos of Nos 1 and 5 Groups to Stuttgart. 4 Lancasters lost. The attack was a success and local reports state that a firestorm occurred.

Support and 13 8 training aircraft on a diversionary sweep over the North Sea, 29 Mosquitos to Berlin and 6 to Steenwijk, 31 RCM sorties, 81 Mosquito patrols, 12 Halifaxes minelaying in Oslo harbour. 2 Halifaxes were lost, 1 from the diversionary sweep and 1 from the minelaying operation.

Total effort for the night: 901 sorties, 23 aircraft (2.6 per cent) lost.

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20 September 1944

646 aircraft - 437 Lancasters, 169 Halifaxes, 40 Mosquitos - attacked German positions around Calais. Visibility was good and the bombing was accurate and concentrated. 1 Lancaster lost.

7 RCM sorties, 5 Hudsons and 2 Lysanders on Resistance operations. No losses.

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12 October 1944

111 Halifaxes and 26 Lancasters of Nos 6 and 8 Groups attacked the oil plant at Wanne­Eickel. A direct hit on a storage tank early in the raid produced dense cloud and smoke which hindered later bombing. A German report says that the refinery itself was not seriously damaged but that the GA VEG chemical factory was destroyed; it is possible that the bombers were aiming at the wrong target.

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14 October 1944

Duisburg. This raid was part of a special operation which has received little mention in the history books. On 13 October, Sir Arthur Harris received the directive for Operation Hurricane: 'In order to demonstrate to the enemy in Germany generally the overwhelming superiority of the Allied Air Forces in this theatre ... the intention is to apply within the shortest practical period the maximum effort of the Royal Air Force Bomber Command and the VIIIth United States Bomber Command against objectives in the densely populated Ruhr.' Bomber Command had probably been forewarned of the directive because it was able to mount the first part of the operation soon after first light on 14 October. No heavy bombers had flown on operations for 48 hours and 1,013 aircraft - 519 Lancasters, 474 Halifaxes and 20 Mosquitos - were dispatched to Duisburg with RAF fighters providing an escort. 957 bombers dropped 3,574 tons of high explosive and 820 tons of incendiaries on Duisburg. 14 aircraft were lost - 13 Lancasters and 1 Halifax; it is probable that the Lancasters provided the early waves of the raid and drew the attention of the German flak before the flak positions were overwhelmed by the bombing.

For their part in Operation Hurricane, the American Eighth Air Force dispatched 1,251 heavy bombers escorted by 749 fighters. More than 1,000 of the American heavies bombed targets in the Cologne area. American casualties were 5 heavy bombers and 1 fighter. No Luftwaffe aircraft were seen.

2 Bomber Command RCM sorties and 2 Resistance operations were also flown on this day.

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20 September 1944

646 aircraft - 437 Lancasters, 169 Halifaxes, 40 Mosquitos - attacked German positions around Calais. Visibility was good and the bombing was accurate and concentrated. 1 Lancaster lost.

7 RCM sorties, 5 Hudsons and 2 Lysanders on Resistance operations. No losses.

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12 October 1944

111 Halifaxes and 26 Lancasters of Nos 6 and 8 Groups attacked the oil plant at Wanne­Eickel. A direct hit on a storage tank early in the raid produced dense cloud and smoke which hindered later bombing. A German report says that the refinery itself was not seriously damaged but that the GA VEG chemical factory was destroyed; it is possible that the bombers were aiming at the wrong target.

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14 October 1944

Duisburg. This raid was part of a special operation which has received little mention in the history books. On 13 October, Sir Arthur Harris received the directive for Operation Hurricane: 'In order to demonstrate to the enemy in Germany generally the overwhelming superiority of the Allied Air Forces in this theatre ... the intention is to apply within the shortest practical period the maximum effort of the Royal Air Force Bomber Command and the VIIIth United States Bomber Command against objectives in the densely populated Ruhr.' Bomber Command had probably been forewarned of the directive because it was able to mount the first part of the operation soon after first light on 14 October. No heavy bombers had flown on operations for 48 hours and 1,013 aircraft - 519 Lancasters, 474 Halifaxes and 20 Mosquitos - were dispatched to Duisburg with RAF fighters providing an escort. 957 bombers dropped 3,574 tons of high explosive and 820 tons of incendiaries on Duisburg. 14 aircraft were lost - 13 Lancasters and 1 Halifax; it is probable that the Lancasters provided the early waves of the raid and drew the attention of the German flak before the flak positions were overwhelmed by the bombing.

For their part in Operation Hurricane, the American Eighth Air Force dispatched 1,251 heavy bombers escorted by 749 fighters. More than 1,000 of the American heavies bombed targets in the Cologne area. American casualties were 5 heavy bombers and 1 fighter. No Luftwaffe aircraft were seen.

2 Bomber Command RCM sorties and 2 Resistance operations were also flown on this day.

Total effort for the night: 1,072 sorties, 2 aircraft (0.2 per cent) lost.

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4/5 November 1944

Bochum: 749 aircraft - 384 Halifaxes, 336 Lancasters, 29 Mosquitos - of Nos 1, 4, 6 and 8 Groups. 23 Halifaxes and 5 Lancasters were lost; German night fighters caused most of the casualties. No 346 (Free French) Squadron, based at Elvington, lost 5 out of its 16 Halifaxes on the raid. This was a particularly successful attack based upon standard Pathfinder marking techniques. Severe damage was caused to the centre of Bochum. More than 4,000 buildings were destroyed or seriously damaged. Bochum's industrial areas were also severely damaged, particularly the important steelworks. This was the last major raid by Bomber Command on this target.

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6 November 1944

Gelsenkirchen: 738 aircraft - 383 Halifaxes, 324 Lancasters, 31 Mosquitos. 3 Lancasters and 2 Halifaxes lost. This large daylight raid had, as its aiming point, the Nordstem synthetic-oil plant. The attack was not well concentrated but 514 aircraft were able to bomb the approximate position of the oil plant before smoke obscured the ground; 187 aircraft then bombed the general town area of Gelsenkirchen.

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11/12 November 1944

Dortmund: 209 Lancasters and 19 Mosquitos of Nos 1 and 8 Groups. No aircraft lost. The aiming point was the Hoesch Benzin synthetic-oil plant in the Wambel district. A local report confirms that the plant was severely damaged. Other bombs hit nearby housing and the local airfield.

16 November 1944

Bomber Command was asked to bomb 3 towns near the German lines which were about to be attacked by the American First and Ninth Armies in the area between Aachen and the Rhine. 1,188 Bomber Command aircraft attacked Duren, Jtilich and Heinsburg in order to cut communications behind the German lines. Duren was attacked by 485 Lancasters and 13 Mosquitos of Nos 1, 5 and 8 Groups, Julich by 413 Halifaxes, 78 Lancasters and 17 Mosquitos of Nos 4, 6 and 8 Groups and Heins berg by 182 Lancasters of No 3 Group. 3 Lancasters were lost on the Duren raid and 1 Lancaster on the Heinsberg raid. 1,239 American heavy bombers also made raids on targets in the same area, without suffering any losses. More than 9,400 tons of high-explosive bombs were dropped by the combined bomber forces. The American advance was not a success. Wet ground prevented the use of tanks and the American artillery units were short of ammunition because of supply difficulties. The infantry advance was slow and costly.

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18 November 1944

Total effort for the night: 1,072 sorties, 2 aircraft (0.2 per cent) lost.

479 aircraft - 367 Halifaxes, 94 Lancasters, 18 Mosquitos - of Nos 4, 6 and 8 Groups to Munster. 1 Halifax crashed in Holland. The raid was not concentrated and bombs fell in all parts of Munster.

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21/22 November 1944

Castrop-Rauxel: 273 aircraft - 176 Halifaxes, 79 Lancasters, 18 Mosquitos - of Nos 1, 6 and 8 Groups. 4 Halifaxes lost. The target was the oil refinery. The local report says that 216 high-explosive bombs, 78 duds and many incendiaries hit the oil plant and caused such a large fire that the fire-fighters could do little more than allow it to bum itself out. It is believe that the refinery produced no more oil after this raid. Bombs fell in many other places, including some important industrial and coal-mining premises.

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12/13 December 1944

Essen: 540 aircraft - 349 Lancasters, 163 Halifaxes, 28 Mosquitos - ofNos 1, 4 and 8 Groups. 6 Lancasters lost. This was the last heavy night raid by Bomber Command on Essen. During the post-war interrogations of Albert Speer, Hitler's Armaments Minister, he was asked which forms of attack were most effective in weakening the German war effort. After referring to the effectiveness of daylight raids and to some of the Oboe Mosquito attacks, Speer paid a compliment to the accuracy of this raid on Essen: "The last night attack upon the Krupp works, which was carried out by a large number of 4-engined bombers, caused surprise on account of the accuracy of the bomb pattern. We assumed that this attack was the first large-scale operation based on Oboe or some other new navigational system."

49 Mosquitos to Osnabrtick, 43 RCM sorties, 43 Mosquito patrols. No aircraft lost.

Total effort for the night: 675 sorties, 6 aircraft (0. 9 per cent) lost.

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No. 6 (Royal Canadian Air Force) Group

Motto: "Sollertia et ingenium" - "Initiative and skill".
Badge: A maple leaf superimposed on a York rose. The York rose symbolises the association with Yorkshire, where the Group was formed.
Authority: King George VI, October 1946.

A Group unique in the annals of Bomber Command by virtue of its overseas nationality was No. 6 (Royal Canadian Air Force) Bomber Group - or the Canadian Bomber Group as it was sometimes known - which formed in and operated from Yorkshire and neighbouring territory during the second half of the war. From relatively small beginnings, No. 6 Group grew to 14 heavy bomber squadrons and compiled, in the greatest aerial offensive in history, a battle record second to none.

Some idea of No. 6 Group's battle record can be gained from the fact that in 1944 it flew 25,353 operational sorties and dropped 86,503 tons of bombs and mines with the lowest loss percentage of four-engined aircraft in the whole of Bomber Command. Following D­Day, during one single month (August), Halifaxes and Lancasters of the Group flew 3,740 operational sorties and dropped 13,274 tons of bombs - more than the total dropped on London by the Luftwaffe during the entire war. Furthermore, aircraft serviceability was maintained at an average of more than 80 per cent. For two attacks on Duisburg made within a period of 16 hours on 14th October 1944, No. 6 Group supplied 501 aircraft - 25 per cent of the total force - in the greatest day's effort of its existence. Losses were infinitesimal, only five aircraft - four of them in the daylight attack. The Group's heaviest attack of the war was against Dortmund on the night of 6th/7th October 1944, when 293 Lancasters and Halifaxes took off from their Yorkshire and near-Yorkshire bases: 273 bombed the primary target, three attacked an alternative, two failed to return, and the remainder were for various reasons unable to drop their bombs.

The cost of No. 6 Group, with the single exception of the pay and allowances of attached RAF and other non-RCAF personnel, was borne by the Canadian Government and the full upkeep of the operational squadrons, including the cost of fuel and ammunition, was defrayed from Canadian taxes and domestic loans.

At the war's end the RCAF had 11 bomber stations in England. Seven of these were operational stations, controlled by No. 6 Group, and four were bomber training units officially controlled by the RAF Training Group, but having a long association with the Canadian Group. All of these stations were in - or just beyond - the Vale of York in the area north of Harrogate, the famous spa, and the ancient city of York. Group headquarters were in the castle at Allerton Park- immortalised as "Castle Dismal" by No. 6 Group's public relations officer - the home of Lord Mowbray and situated east of Knaresborough.

No. 6 (RCAF) Bomber Group officially assumed operational status at 0001 hours on 1st January 1943. During the next three days the RAF handed over to the Group six stations with the RCAF squadrons established thereon. These were Leeming (Nos. 408 and 424 Squadrons), Middleton St. George (Nos. 419 and 420 Squadrons), Dishforth (Nos. 425 and 426 Squadrons), Croft (No. 427 Squadron), Dalton (No. 428 Squadron) and, lastly, Skipton-on-Swale, which was then still under construction. The Group was also given control of No. 405 Squadron, then serving with Coastal Command (and later transferred to No. 8 (PFF) Group), and No. 1659 HCU with other specialised formations. With the exception of Nos. 405, 408 and 419 Squadrons, which had Halifax Ils or Vs, all the aforementioned squadrons were then flying Wellingtons.

Ready for operations, No. 6 Group flew its first mission on the night of 3rd/4th January, 1943, when six Wellingtons from No. 427 Squadron were sent to lay mines off the Frisian Isles. From that start the Canadian squadrons were active almost right up to VE Day - until their final mission against Wangerooge on 25th April 1945.

As the Group grew other stations and squadrons were added. RAF station Wombleton was turned over to the Canadians while under construction, and was completed by 20th October, to round out the stations of the training base. No. 429 Squadron joined the Group when East Moor station was taken over from the RAF on 1st April. On 18th June 1943, the permanent station of Linton-on-Ouse became Canadian, and with it the Tholthorpe station, then under construction. When Tholthorpe was ready for operations No. 62 (Beaver) Base was formed. The Canadian Group then had under its control the full complement of stations for wartime organisation. On 1st May 1944, Nos. 63 and 64 Bases were created and the only major change that followed was the transfer of the training base to RAF control in November 1944.

Three completely new squadrons were formed by the Group. These were No. 432 on 1st May 1943; No. 434 on 13th June 1943; and No.433, which began to form on 25th September 1943. For some months No. 431 Squadron remained the only Canadian bomber squadron serving with the RAF apart from the Group, but it was taken over on 15th July 1943. Last established squadron to be added was No. 415, which had been serving with Coastal Command, but was transferred to No. 6 Group on 12th July 1944.

As the squadrons converted from Wellingtons through Halifax Ils and V's and Lancaster IIs to Halifax Ills and VIIs and Lancaster Is, Ills and Xs, many transfers occurred from station to station. Of all the RCAF squadrons of No. 6 Group, No. 419 alone remained at the one station, Middleton St. George, from the formation of the Group until the end of the war. It was to this squadron, incidentally, that the first Canadian-built Lancaster

(Mark X), KB700, the famous Ruhr Express, was delivered, after flying three operational sorties with No. 405 Squadron in No. 8 (PFF) Group as "LQ-Q". With the Moose Squadron it became "VR-Z" and flew a further 46 operational sorties before being destroyed in a crash at Middleton St. George on returning from Nuremberg - its 49th op - on the night of 2nd/3rd January 1945. In May/June 1943, Nos. 420, 424 and 425 Squadrons were sent to North West Africa Air Command, where they served under No. 331 Medium Bomber Wing until the following November. They then returned to England and to No. 6 Group. The Tiger Squadron settled at Skipton and the Snowy Owls and Alouettes at Tholthorpe. With the arrival of No. 415 Squadron at East Moor in July 1944, all squadrons had been settled at the stations that were to be their homes for the rest of the war.

WWII Headquarters:

Allerton Park : Oct 1942 onwards

WWII Air Officer's Commanding:

Air Vice-Marshal GE Brookes: 25th Oct 1942
Air Vice-Marshal CM McEwen : 29th Feb 1944