F/S McQuillan was serving with 15 Sqdn. He was a crew member of Stirling III BK815 LS-V which took off from Mildenhall on a mission to Krefeld. It is thought the aircraft was hit by flak. All the crew died except one who was taken prisoner.
On this day 21-22nd June, 45 aircraft of assorted types on the same mission were shot down, with an average of 5 or 6 people on board, some of whom were taken prisoner, the rest died.
Royal Air Force Bomber Command Losses of the Second World War: 1943; W.R. Chorley, 1996, Midland Counties Publications, ISBN 0 904597 90 3.
Tony Hibberd has added the following:
Stirling BK815 LS-V had departed Mildenhall at 2355 for Ops Krefeld
It was intercepted at 3800M above Melsele, 12km W of Antwerp by a Night-Fighter captained by Oblt Gerhard Raht (IV/NJG3 – detached to I/NJG1) and shot down at 0132 for his 6th Abschuss
Nacht Jagd Combat Archive 1943 Part 1 Dr Theo Boiten
Francis Dennis McQuillan is commemorated in Heaton on H91.02
