The night of 16-17 December is the anniversary of ‘Black Friday’, 1943. From 498 aircraft sent on an operation to Berlin, 25 were lost over Germany and occupied Europe and 31 crash-landed or were abandoned over England in thick fog. Alfred Beckett a Queen’s University graduate and RAF navigator died this day over Italy. On This Day in 1939 The Battle of the River Plate edges towards a conclusion and in 1944,1,600 German heavy guns open fire on American positions in Belgium’s Ardennes. The barrage kicks off The Battle of The Bulge.
