HalifaxBuild was inspired by Tim’s great-uncle

Sergeant Donald Gordon McNab was a Halifax bomber pilot who died in WW2.

On April 26 1943, 560 aircraft took part in a massive night bombing raid over Holland. Seventeen of them, along with their crews, failed to return home (119 men). One of them, Halifax DG423 ‘H’ for Harry of 76 Squadron was piloted by my great-uncle on his fourth (and final) combat mission.

Donald’s bomber was attacked by night fighter ace pilot Heinz Vinke shortly after crossing the Dutch coast. Vinke had been vectored to the bomber stream as soon as it was detected by German radar and quickly closed in on ‘H for Harry’, firing a single burst. The bomber entered a steep dive, and was next seen on fire and flying low over Amsterdam. Whether any of the crew were still alive at that stage will never be known, as no one attempted to bailout, but the aircraft continued to fly with some semblance of control.

From eyewitness accounts, the aircraft reached the outskirts of town, flew a wide circle before being hit by flak and crashing into the Carlton Hotel. The Hotel was of significance to the Germans. Three years earlier, it had been commandeered as the Luftwaffe’s Holland Command Centre. It, along with most of the surrounding block was destroyed by the crash. That the aircraft seemed to ‘aim’ for the building moments before it hit it, led to speculation by many that it was a deliberate act. Another witness, a 13-year Jewish girl, wrote in her diary the next day that the Carlton hotel had been destroyed. Hiding in her attic, Anne Frank wrote –

“The Carlton Hotel has been destroyed. A British plane loaded with incendiary bombs fell right on top of the officers’ club. The whole corner of Vijzelstraat-singel burned down. The air attacks on German cities have been increased from day to day. We do not have a good night of rest anymore and I have black circles under my eyes due to lack of sleep.”

All seven of H for Harry’s crew perished that night. And all seven now lay to rest in the ‘Nieuwe Oosterbegraafplaats’ cemetery in Amsterdam.