On the 7th February 1945, he flew with W/Cdr Douglas on an attack on the Dortmund-Ems Canal. He flew as the bomb aimer and while W/O Nanscawen, Douglas's usual Bomb Aimer, operated the H2S. Fifteen minutes after bombing the target they were attacked and shot down. Five out of the eight crew members survived and became POWs. They were:

F/Sgt Parker RAF - Engineer

P/O Strickland RAAF - Wireless Operator

F/S Bean RAAF - Mid Upper Gunner

F/S Thompson RAAF - Tail Gunner

F/O Baines RCAF - 2nd Bomb Aimer

W/Cdr Douglas RAAF - Pilot

P/O Stuart - Navigator

W/O Nanscawen RAAF - Bomb Aimer

(National Archives of Australia)

Perishing in the attack were:

From Strickland's description and the survivors, it appears that the aeroplane was hit in the port wing and the fuselage. This allowed the crew members to escape through the rear door (Mid Upper, Tail and W/O) and through the forward hatch ( Bomb Aimer and Engineer) under the bomb aimer. However, this damage to the Lancaster prevented the Pilot, Navigator and H2S Operator from being able to bail out.