… Rosie kicked the door of the hut closed and dumped his flying gear by his bunk; “Well, a bit of an easy go, that one”, he commented to Art Kingsley, mid-upper, “three down. I wish they'd all be like that - hardly had time to get me wind up.” Kingsley didn't respond as he stripped from his flight suit, letting it drop to the floor.
“Sit here, Adolf” —After Action Report
29/30 March, 1944 —Miss. No. 56
Operation: Detailed against Leverkusen - Industry
Crew: Pilot: F/L Rick Abbotsford; Bomb aimer F/O Brian Holmes; Navigator P/O Colin Bright; Flt. Eng. F/L Ian Bellworthy; W/O Sgt. Sean Hemming; Mid-upper Sgt. Arthur Kingsley; Tail gunner Sgt. Ross ("Rosie") Dillon
Weather en route: Clear all the way to the target.
Opposition:
Outbound: Attacked once as we crossed into the France - raft destroyed.
Over target: No 110's, not caught by the searchlights and moderate flak - (we didn't catch any). But a 109 attacked and knocked out the outer starboard tank which left us with three engines to go home on - but the kraut never went home as Sgt. Leighton sent him down in a ball of fire. (Me-109 Destroyed - Sgt. Brian Holmes, bomb aimer)
Homeward: No attack on the homeward leg.
Bomb run: on and estimated 30% on target
Assessment of attack: Many fires but accuracy difficult to assess with the cloud cover.
Landing: Okay
Crew casualties: None
Comments: None
F/L Rick Abbotsford, pilot