On April 12, 1945, a Royal Air Force (RAF) crew departed from RAF Tarrant Rushton for a secret supply mission over the occupied Netherlands. The aircraft, a Halifax type A Mk VII with serial number NA 347, was part of a Special Operations assignment in the final phase of the Second World War.
The mission aimed to drop weapons, ammunition, and explosives for the Dutch resistance near Ter Aar. This drop was known under the codename “Medico 6”, while the resistance referred to the area as “Robin”. To avoid detection by German radar, the aircraft flew low over the coast, often between Noordwijk and Zandvoort.
During the flight, the Halifax was fired upon by German anti-aircraft guns, presumably from a unit of the Hermann Göring Division. Observations by the Kriegsmarine also contributed to the rapid alerting of anti-aircraft batteries along the coast.
Watch the animation of the shooting down of the Halifax NA 347 here.
The animation was created for the exhibition Bunkers: The hidden past of Zandvoort.
The aircraft was hit in the right wing, after which a fire broke out in the fuel tanks. The pilot attempted to veer towards the sea, but the Halifax became uncontrollable. Ultimately, the plane crashed in the Amsterdamse Waterleidingduinen. The explosion of the cargo, consisting of ammunition and explosives, was visible from far across the surrounding area.
All crew members lost their lives in the crash of Halifax NA 347. They were later buried at the Allied Field of Honor of the Nieuwe Oosterbegraafplaats in Amsterdam, where many fallen Allied soldiers have found their final resting place.
Today, a memorial stone in the Amsterdamse Waterleidingduinen marks the site of the crash. The event remains an important part of local war remembrance and illustrates the risks of RAF Special Operations over the occupied Netherlands during the Second World War.
