Flight Sergeant James Smyth (1504638) served in the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve during World War Two. He was the eldest son of Thomas Smyth and Martha Smyth of Moneynick, Co. Antrim.
Known to family and friends as Jim, as a boy he helped with the horses and planting crops on the family farm. He attended Ballymena Academy, Ballymena, Co. Antrim and worked in the accountancy department of the Belfast Telegraph.
With the outbreak of World War Two, Smyth enlisted in the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve. He undertook training in Cambridge and South Africa before receiving his first posting to a bomber crew.
Jim died on 31st March 1944 aged 29 years old. He was a Navigator with RAF 166 Squadron in Bomber Command on Avro Lancaster ME624 AS-X. The crew rook off from RAF Kirmington, Lincolnshire on a night raid at 2200hrs on 30th March 1944. The target was Nürnberg, Germany.
A Luftwaffe nightfighter, possibly that of Leutnant Hans Schafer of 7/NJG2 engaged the bomber crew over Vogelsberg, Germany. Reports suggest the Lancaster crashed on an airfield near Giessen, Germany.
Remembering the crew of Lancaster ME624
| Last Name | First Name(s) | Rank | Role | Information |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Allan | William James | Sergeant | Rear Guner | RAAF 409130. Killed aged 22 years old. |
| Fennell | Roy Barton | Flight Sergeant | Pilot | RAFVR 1318683. Killed aged 22 years old. |
| Harvey | Douglas Venning | Flight Sergeant | Wireless Operator | RAAF 420835. Killed aged 27 years old. |
| Jones | Albert Patrick | Flight Sergeant | Mid Upper Gunner | RAFVR 929021. Killed aged 21 years old. |
| Smyth | James | Flight Sergeant | Navigator | RAFVR 1504638. Killed aged 29 years old. |
| Pettis | William George Sydney | Sergeant | Flight Engineer | RAFVR 1851255. Killed aged 20 years old. |
James Smyth’s grave is in Section 5, Row E, Grave 7 of Hanover War Cemetery, Hanover, Niedersachsen, Germany. His headstone bears the inscription:
No more dawns, no night returns but we still remember him.