BARTLE, Peter Chadwick
| Service Number: | 422103 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 25 April 1942 |
| Last Rank: | Flight Sergeant |
| Last Unit: | Not yet discovered |
| Born: | NEWCASTLE-ON-TYNE, ENGLAND, 9 June 1914 |
| Home Town: | Not yet discovered |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Not yet discovered |
| Died: | Accidental, United Kingdom, 27 August 1943, aged 29 years |
| Cemetery: | Not yet discovered |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, International Bomber Command Centre Memorial |
World War 2 Service
| 3 Sep 1939: | Involvement Flight Sergeant, 422103 | |
|---|---|---|
| 25 Apr 1942: | Enlisted Royal Australian Air Force, Flight Sergeant, 422103 |
Help us honour Peter Chadwick Bartle's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Geoffrey Gillon
He was 29 and the son of Mr. and Mrs. J. A. C. Bartle, of Waverley, New South Wales, Australia.
A Halifax bomber, number DG412, from 1663 heavy conversion unit, was based at RAF Rufforth, four miles west of York. The crew was trained on heavy bombers, which also included the Lancaster and Stirling, prior to being posted to an operational bomber squadron. The last training flight of the course was known as a Bullseye mission.
A relatively soft enemy target was chosen for the crew to complete an actual combat bombing mission, and this was the fatal mission of the crew on August 27, 1943. The mission was to bomb Brest, in France. However, the bomber suffered anti-aircraft fire damage and had to be flown back to England. It was refused permission to land at Chivenor, near Barnstaple, and Winkleigh, near Torrington, both in Devon.
Tragically, over the village of Langtree, the damaged aircraft broke up in mid-air and crashed. The aircraft came down on the land at Buda Farm, Langtree, about 500 yards from the parish church.”
Full Crew:
Sgt Wheatley was only 18 and the flight engineer. Other crew were pilot Sgt John Williams, 20, from Sussex; bomb aimer Flying Officer William Graham, 28, from Oldham, Greater Manchester; wireless operator Sgt James Taylor, 23, from Kirkcaldy, Fife; and rear gunner Sgt Hugh Henry, 22, from Queensland, Australia. Sgt Stainsby was aged 20 and navigator on the flight.