Richard York French  Photo from 05 JUL 2014 Updated: 15 JAN 2022

Airman: a018001.htm Surname: French Init: R Y Rank: F/Sgt Service: RAAF Sqdn: 138

P_link: p392r.htm Plane: STI LK279 Operation: Drop in DK Crash_site: Lillebælt.

Crash_d: d100245 Buried_d: b050146 C_link: c018.htm At_Next: Fredericia

Den 10. februar 1945 styrtede STI LK279 ned i Lillebælt ved Flækøjet omkring her.
Det nåede ikke at kaste forsyninger ved modtagepladsen "Niels".

”Natten til den 10. februar 1945 stod  man på 7 fynske modtagepladser klar til at signalere til allierede våbenfly. Ved 22-tiden satte det imidlertid ind med dårligt vejr, hvorfor ingen af flyene
nåede frem til de ventende fynboer." (FAF) De andre 6 fly returnerede, men STI LK279 kom
ikke tilbage.

Se Google Map p392r Stirling LK279 og den lange version med detaljer.
Se også Poul Erik Pedersen om Short Stirling NF-L LK279 og meget andet.

Den 2. januar 1946 blev liget af R. Y. French fundet i Lillebælt nær Brandsø og han blev
begravet i Fredericia den 5. januar 1946. AOD har detaljer.
Arne Mosgaard om flyvergrave i Fredericia.

Flight Sergeant Richard York French, 21 år, var søn af Oscar Robert og Annie Louise Rhoda French, Bondi Junction, New South Wales, Australia. (Kilde: CWGC)

Den 10. februar 2015 blev 70-årsdagen for styrtet markeret i Fredericia ved en mindegudstjeneste
i Christianskirken med deltagelse af Anne Dellow, 88 år, søster til William J. Carthew, grev Ingolf
og Sussie af Rosenborg, den australske ambassadør, den britiske militærattache, garnisonskommandanten i Fredericia, borgmesteren i Fredericia samt mange andre danskere
med militær eller civil baggrund.
Se Lokalavisen Fredericia 17. februar 2015: Til ære for de, der mistede livet og
70 år efter tragedien skete, fotos: Rosa Engelbrecht, tekst: Jørgen Flindt.

69 flyvere mindes på Mindetavlen i Rebild og i London, se 69 flyvere - St. Clement Danes.
7 flyvere.

On 10 February 1945 STI LK279 crashed into the Lillebælt at Flækøjet about here.
It failed to drop supplies in the drop zone "Niels".

”On the night before 10 February, 1945, they were ready at 7 drop zones on Funen to signal to allied planes with weapons. However, at about 10 p.m. bad weather
started, so none of the planes reached the waiting residents of Funen." (FAF) The other 6 planes returned, but STI LK279 failed to return.
See Google Map p392r Stirling LK279 and the long version.

On 2 January 1946 the body of R. Y. French was found in the Lillebælt near Brandsø. On 5 January 1946 he was buried in Fredericia. AOD has details.
Flight Sergeant Richard York French, 21, was the son of Oscar Robert and Annie Louise Rhoda French, of Bondi Junction, New South Wales, Australia. (CWGC)
All my thoughts, dearest. Mother
Virtual War Memorial Australia has this. He is remembered on The Walls of Names at the International Bomber Command Centre, Phase 2, Panel 167.

On 10 February 2015 the 70th anniversary of the air crash was commemorated at a memorial service in Christianskirken. Among the attendants were
Anne Dellow, 88, the sister of William J. Carthew, Count Ingolf and Sussie of Rosenborg, the Australian Ambassador to Denmark, the British Military Attache,
the Commandant of the Garrison of Fredericia, the Mayor of Fredericia, and many other Danes with a military or civilian background.

1 airman from STI LK279 was buried in Middelfart and 1 in Fredericia. 5 airmen have no known grave - one of them might be the Unknown airman in Fredericia! 

See 69 perished airmen on the Memorial Plaque in Rebild and in London, 69 airmen - St. Clement Danes.
No. 138 Squadron - Wikipedia * Roll of Honour, Tempsford * Tempsford Special Duties Squadrons * A History of Tempsford Airfield
Stirling IV LK279 NF-L took off from RAF Tempsford on 09 FEB 1945. (Source: Aircrew Remembered has this.) Short Stirling. 7 airmen.