153 Sqn. 15th March 1945 - Misburg

My father served in this squadron. These posts follow Sqn operations from Jan '45 to the end of hostilities in real time.

The target selected for March 15th was the Deurag oil refinery on the N/E outskirts of Hannover. 10 aircraft were detailed to take part, but a serious engine malfunction in PB 642(P4-W) prevented it from going. Although favoured by good visibility and accurate marking, the main weight of the attack fell south of the target. Some degree of heavy flak, in moderate barrage form, was encountered.


Post raid photo showing damage to refinery area Misburg.

There are many incredible stories of incidents which took place during air combat where survival outside of the odds was recorded and this raid provided one of the most bizarre incidents of any squadron's history. Approaching the target in the usual manner at the controls of NG 488(P4-2ndA), F/O Ted Parker suddenly found himself in mid-air - no aeroplane, no crew, nothing apart from his seat type parachute. In some inexplicable manner, his aircraft had disintegrated, projecting him into the night sky, but Ted was never able to explain the cause. There had been no warning of an approaching fighter nor any indication of flak - one moment he was flying his machine the next he was all on his own in space. He landed by parachute, evaded capture and arrived back at Scampton on 7th May. None of the rest of his crew survived.

Warrant Officer Robert Taylor

Photo courtesy of his Grand-daughter Colleen McDonald

NG488 was delivered to No.153 Sqdn 1Feb45. Airborne 1700 15 Mar45 from Scampton to bomb the Deurag oil plant. Cause of loss and crash-site not established. Those killed are buried in Hannover War Cemetery. P/O E.J.Parker Inj P/O J.J.Nevens KIA. F/O G.H.Small RCAF KIA. F/O H.J.Lodge KIA. WO2 R.Taylor RCAF KIA. Sgt A.W.Preston RCAF KIA. Sgt L.Williams KIA.

Jings!!!

Hullo ma wee blog,

Aw No!

I'm fifty-bloomin-one today!!!


CRIVENS! JINGS! HELP MA BOAB!

See ya later

Listening to - my bones creaking!

153 Sqn. 13th March 1945 - Gelsenkirchen

My father served in this squadron. These posts follow Sqn operations from Jan '45 to the end of hostilities in real time.

By the evening of 13th March, the Squadron could muster only 12 aircraft, one of which ME 424(P4-2ndN) was undergoing a quick overhaul. The remainder took off around dusk, to attack the Benzoil plant at Gelsenkirchen, which lies about 5 miles north of Essen. Conditions favoured the bombers - clear skies and a slight ground haze, through which the marking flares were easily identified. An accurate and concentrated attack ensued, enlivened by a massive explosion around 2045hrs reported by many crews. Once again, the enemy sought to divert the attack by setting off decoy fires accompanied by false markers. For some reason, the Germans were unable to successfully copy the RAF flares, so their decoys were usually identified and ignored. In fact, more crews tended to be misled by the 'creep-back' factor, occasioned by earlier arrivals dropping their bombs too soon.

F/O Martin had to abort the mission. He was piloting LM 754(P4-E) which, true to form, had engine trouble; this time the P/I caught fire. In accordance with squadron practice, he was allowed to jettison his 'cookie' (4,000lb bomb) in The Wash before attempting a 3-engine landing with his remaining load.(In 153 Squadron, a blind eye was closed if "new" crews i.e those with 10 ops or fewer, disposed of the cookie in this way; 'experienced' crews were expected to bring the whole load back.)

Either way, it entailed landing at a higher speed than normal. On reaching dispersal, it was part of the standard 'shut down' procedure to open the bomb bay doors, to facilitate inspection by ground crew - and to verify that all bombs had gone. However, there was always the chance that when a load had been brought back one bomb would drop off; a heart stopping moment!

(Some 50 years after the event, it was alleged that a member of the Women's Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF) flew on this particular raid, as a passenger in NG 500(P4-2ndV), piloted by F/O Bob Purves, RCAF. If true, this would constitute a unique incident. The allegation, interesting as it is, has never been proven.)

153 Sqn. 11th -12th March 1945 - Essen/Gardening

My father served in this squadron. These posts follow 153 Sqn operations from Jan '45 to the end of hostilities in real time.


The daylight raid on Essen on March 11th was distinguished by three items of interest; it was the last Bomber Command attack on this heavily bombed city which shortly after was occupied by American ground troops. The total force dispatched was 1079 bombers (750 Lancasters 293 Halifax's, 36 Mosquitoes) which briefly became the largest number of aircraft ever concentrated against one target in one attack. The target was completely obscured by 10/10 cloud necessitating bombing on sky markers. As F/O Noel Crane dryly noted - "The only result observed was cloud disturbance" but although conditions effectively grounded the Luftwaffe, it did not deter the German flak batteries, which initially put up a formidable box barrage.

By dint of considerable effort, 153 Squadron had contributed all 15 of its remaining aircraft to this 'milestone' 1,000 plus raid, from which only three failed to return. Unfortunately, this loss included NG 201(P4-2ndT) being flown by F/O Eric Gibbins and his young all-RAFVR crew; it would appear probable that the aircraft was stricken by a 'cookie' dropped from a higher-flying bomber.

Airborne 1125 from Scampton. Crashed in the target area and all were buried soon afterwards in the S-West Friedhof. Five are now buried in the Reichswald Forest War Cemetery, while F/S Craddock and Sgt Mitchell are commemorated on Panels 270 and 276 respectively of the Runnymede Memorial F/O E.W.Gibbins KIA. Sgt E.T.West KIA. F/S C.Cole KIA. F/S W.L.Shield KIA. F/S S.Craddock KIA. Sgt B.T.Gough KIA. Sgt J.Mitchell KIA."

MARCH 12th.

March 12th saw a new record of aircraft despatched to a single target - one that has never been bettered! The total force of 1,108 bombers (748 Lancasters, 292 Halifax's and 68 Mosquitoes) delivered a record 4,851 tons of bombs through cloud on hapless Dortmund, causing intense devastation to the centre and southern areas. 153(B) Squadron contributed 9 of its remaining 14 aircraft - the other 5 were required for the evening's Gardening operation. The force was escorted by USAAF long-range Thunderbolts, who flew too close for Tom Tobin's comfort - he much preferred to have Spitfire or Mustang escorts flying high above him. A nice touch was added to the day - LM 550(P4-C), in the capable hands of F/Lt Bill Langford, recorded its 100th operation and became one of those rare beasts in operational squadrons - a centurion.

GARDENING

That same evening, 5 aircraft set off mine laying, but only 3 made it back to Scampton.  RA 526(P4-2ndJ) was shot down, while PB 788(P4-2ndQ) was badly damaged and had to be classified 'DBR' {damaged beyond repair} after a belly landing at Carnaby.

As F/Sgt Freddie Fish navigated NG 488 (P4-2nd A) on the long leg to the tip of Jutland, he was acutely conscious that they were being plotted on enemy radar and, on reaching the coast, the crew were tensed up all the way to the drop zone, which lay some 10 miles south of Anholt. Any sense of relief following the drop was instantly dispelled when a fighter appeared astern bearing a searchlight on its nose (subsequently they learned that this was a BENITO fighter which illuminated a target to enable another, lurking on the opposite side, to have a silhouette to aim at). With both gunners blazing away, Whiz Wheeler took violent evasive action, eventually gaining cloud cover.



On the homeward journey, the crew recorded 3 Lancasters coming under concentrated, accurate, flak attack. Possibly, one of those could have belonged to 153 Squadron. Certainly, PB 786(P4-2ndQ) took a direct hit in the S/I engine, which also set the wing on fire. In an incredible attempt to tackle the blaze, F/Eng Reggy Morris hung out of his window with navigator Ian McGregor hanging grimly onto his legs, but to no avail. Skipper Noel Crane then gave an order to bale out, but Ian (not fancying the outcome), suggested that first they try to reach a small island showing up on his H2S screen. Noel's agreement was timely, for the rear gunner, already half way out of his turret, had fortuitously forgotten to disconnect his intercom, so returned to his usual station. For some reason, when F/O Crane lowered what was left of the under-carriage, the sudden rush of air extinguished the flames! It was now a toss-up whether to aim for the inviting lights of Sweden, or try to get home. Home won. With a badly damaged, unbalanced aircraft and dubious fuel readings they made pitifully slow progress, unable to maintain height, eventually issuing a 'Mayday' call; meanwhile Ian and W/Op, Johnny Peel, took a series of 'G' fixes, plotted them, and then notified them to the RAF Air/Sea Rescue Launch service. (The 'Boat Boys' subsequently advised that thanks to the information provided they had PB 786(P4-2ndQ) on their plotting table from halfway across the North Sea, and could have effected a rapid pick-up if needed. The meticulous efforts of the W/Op and navigator were featured in a later edition of 'Tee Em' {RAF aircrew wartime training magazine} as an example of correct Air/Sea Rescue co-operation. Undaunted, Noel nursed his stricken aircraft at just about zero feet, back to Carnaby where he pulled off a landing on only one leg - everyone walked away without a scratch. Quite a way to finish your operational tour!

Sadly at debriefing it was learned that RA 526(P4-2ndJ) piloted by F/O Ken Ayres and all his RAFVR crew, had been posted missing. At a much later date it transpired that they crashed near the island of Samsó - in fact, five of the crew now lies buried on the island. The navigator F/Sgt Reg McMinn was never found. The B/A, P/O Bob Maine, parachuted to safety - beating the odds against survival when bailing out during gardening ops - was made POW by the Germans, and eventually released by the Americans.

Airborne 1735 from Scampton for mine-laying operations in the Silverthorne Region (Kattegat Areas). Cause of loss not established. Crashed into the sea off the Danish Island of Samso. Five of the six men killed are buried in Trandbjaerg Churchyard. F/S McMinn has no known grave and is commemorated on Panel 272 on the Runnymede Memorial. P/O K.A.Ayres DFC KIA. Sgt W.C.Taylor KIA. F/S R.J.McMinn KIA. F/O R.Mains PoW F/S D.Head KIA. Sgt R.Wilson KIA. Sgt D.Cox KIA. F/O R.Mains was confined in Hospital due injuries until Liberation. No PoW No. Returned UK 18Apr45. "



Mention must be made of a lighter incident on this operation, which entered Squadron lore. S/Ldr Rippingale invariably chose to fly in Lancaster LM 754(P4-E) despite the fact that its S/I engine regularly gave trouble, so that he often had to radio the Control Tower to announce "E - Easy - three engines". On his return from Gardening, he was surprised to find 'Smoky Joe' was still functioning properly, so mischievously Tom called up to announce "E - Easy - four engines". On reaching his dispersal, he found the station fire tender and the "blood wagon" (ambulance) waiting his arrival. It transpired that Control, never having been advised of anyone landing on four engines, had decided that Ripp had stated "four injured" and had taken all necessary precautionary measures!

153 Sqn. 8th March 1945 - Kassel

My father served in this squadron. These posts follow 153 Sqn operations from Jan '45 to the end of hostilities in real time.

The selected target for March 8th was Kassel, which lay mid-way between the advancing armies of Russia and the Allies, but well ahead of both. Although the weather over the UK was bad for take-off and landing, that over the target was excellent, and crews had no trouble in identifying the target indicators and in pressing home a decisive attack. 176 aircraft took part in this final heavy raid by the RAF on Kassel. Fierce fires were still visible from well over 60 miles distance on the homeward leg - and to S/Ldr Rippingale on his approach!

This late arrival at the target was occasioned by a most unusual incident. While well along the runway, PB783 (P4-2ndI) with its tail up and nearing lift-off, suddenly swerved off the tarmac and ground-looped on the grass. It transpired that F/O Bruce Potter (flying his 28th operation) had collapsed at the controls; only a quick response by the F/E, Sgt Wooley, in closing off all power averted more serious consequences. Wing/Co Powley invited the crew to fly the operation with a "spare" pilot, but concerned for their Skipper and somewhat shaken by their experience, they firmly declined. The W/Co therefore ordered the night's Reserve Crew to take off instead - which explains how S/Ldr Rippingale departed at least 15 minutes behind everyone else, to blaze a dangerously conspicuous and solitary path to a well-lit target. This late arrival on the scene could have had dire consequences, but he passed unscathed through skies that had seen intense flak and fighter activity at the height of the raid. Among the casualties was NG 218 (P4-2ndB) which, in the care of F/O Searle, just made it back to Manston emergency airfield suffering a holed petrol tank, which grounded it for a week.

F/O Potter was admitted to hospital and never rejoined the Squadron.

Kassel was the Headquarters for Germany’s Wehrkreis {military district} IX, and a local subcamp of Dachau concentration camp provided forced labor for Henschel facilities. As well as being the capital of the provinces of Hesse-Nassau & Kurhessen, Kassel had some important targets.

Fieseler aircraft plant
Henschel {aircraft production and anti aircraft weapon} facilities
locomotive plant
engine plant
motor transport plant
railway works
Military HQs at Wehrkreis IX, and Bereich Hauptsitz Kassel
Central Germany HQ, highway & railway construction
Regional Supreme Court

The most severe bombing of Kassel in World War II destroyed 90% of the downtown area, some 10,000 people were killed, and 150,000 were made homeless. Allegedly most of the casualties were civilians or wounded soldiers recuperating in local hospitals, whereas factories survived the attack generally undamaged. The US Army captured Kassel on 3 April 1945.



Flak over the target was an ever present problem for crews who had to endure an extended period of straight and level flight on the run up to bomb release. This stretch, which would be for the final 10-12 miles of flight to target, allowed the bomb aimer to correctly position the aircraft over the target and would last for what felt like the longest 3 or 4 minutes of the crews lives. Once bombs gone was signaled the aircraft had to fly straight and level for a few further nerve shreddingly excruciating moments so that a confirmation photo could be taken. Only once this had been completed could the pilot break and start the run for home.

German anti aircraft batteries used 'box' and 'predicted' flak to target the bombers.

Box flak was simply the gunners getting as much munitions up into the sky as possible to try and hit or deter the aircraft using experience to gauge the correct height and position.

Predicted flak could be much more effective as it relied on radar linked guns using the supplied information from ground based radar and also from reports from night-fighters who would fly alongside the bomber stream and report back direction and height information to the gunners below. This meant that very accurate fire could be directed and this could also be linked to radar controlled searchlights making for an effective umbrella of protection for the target.

Once on the way home, the bomber stream would continue to be targeted by night-fighters lurking around the edges to use probing attacks on the unwary and to pick off any aircraft who were damaged and lagging behind. This contributed to heavy losses until allied air superiority was firmly established and fighter support could be provided - mainly for the daylight raids. The Bomber Command chief - 'Bomber Harris' - actually complained at the lack of fighter escorts and the heavy losses being sustained in attacks on German cities. This was odd as he switched the RAF to night raids as this was seen by his command as a safer option {USAAF continued to use predominantly daytime raiding tactics throughout the war} and he was therefore complaining that in effect his own tactics were incorrect!

Even the Bomber crews called him 'Butcher Harris'

Makes you Proud to be A Scot

Hullo ma wee blog,

After having dug to a depth of 10 feet last year, Irish scientists
found traces of copper wire dating back 100 years and came to the
conclusion that their ancestors already had a telephone network more
than 100 years ago.

Not to be outdone by the Irish, in the weeks that followed, an English
archaeologist dug to a depth of 20 feet, and shortly after, a story
published in the Sassenach Morning Herald read:

"English archaeologists, finding traces of 130-year-old copper wire,
have concluded that their ancestors already had an advanced high-tech communications network 30 years earlier than the Irish".

One week later, the Banffshire Courier in Buckie, Scotland, reported
the following:

"After digging as deep as 30 feet in his pasture near Clat,
Aberdeenshire, Jock Broon, a self-taught archaeologist, reported that he found absolutely hee-haw.

Jock has therefore concluded that 130 years ago, Scotland had already gone wireless."

Just makes you proud to be a Scot!

153 Sqn. March 7th 1945 - Dessau

These posts follow 153 Sqn operations from Jan '45 to the end of hostilities in real time.

This being a period of moonless nights, no-one was greatly surprised that on 7th March a further 'Thunderclap' target was selected - the town of Dessau, lying midway between Berlin and Leipzig. 153 Squadron dispatched 14 of its remaining 16 aircraft, which encountered cloud all the way out and back, resulting in a sketchy attack. The outward journey took the Main Force north of the Ruhr on a course seemingly destined for Berlin. There was intense night fighter reaction to the perceived threat; combats occurred all along the route. One fighter, crossing through the stream of bombers, nearly collided with Tom Tobin who recalled - "He was so close that I felt I could shake hands with him, as we whistled past!"

The night recorded a significant milestone, F/O George Bishop, RCAF, and except for the F/Eng, his all-Canadian crew, became the first to complete the new tour requirement of 36 operations, all of which were flown with 153(B) Squadron. They flew the last twelve of these operations in only five weeks.