Authors: Martin Bowman
Tags: #Bisac Code 1: HIS027140
This may seem surprising, but my 21st birthday was still 5 months away and at that age one can crave excitement. Danger, like drugs can become habit forming and one wants a regular ‘injection’ of danger and the enormous elation, which one experiences when the danger is past and one is still unharmed. It was also a glamorous life. The contract was that you flew the RAF’s aeroplanes with the statistical likelihood that you would be killed, wounded or taken prisoner. In return the RAF paid you well, gave you a great deal of freedom and time off, with leave every 6 weeks and extended to you a variety of privileges, which few enjoyed in war-time Britain. These included such things as aircrew meals of bacon and eggs, special sweet rations, petrol for use in private cars and sheets to sleep in. If you weren’t required for flying you could do more or less what you liked; large numbers of air crew in ‘Bomber Counties’ such as Lincolnshire largely spent their spare time in pubs and dance halls, getting ‘stoned’ and chasing the ladies. Cities such as Nottingham were an air crew paradise and the White Hart in Lincoln was like a 5 Group Headquarters. To turn one’s back on this sort of
Boys Own Paper
life and the conscious pride that goes with being a member of an acknowledged
corps d’elite
was unthinkable to me at the time. So I decided to volunteer for an immediate second tour of operations, but not with Bomber Command. I decided I would like to fly in Beaufighters in Scotland on anti-shipping strikes. I thought that would be exciting but my request was turned down out of hand. At the same time I was told that if I did want to continue operational flying I could be fixed up with a navigator’s job on 627 and if I accepted I could have a commission, so the deal was done. (My promotion to Pilot Officer came through on 26 March).
Having accepted the switch somewhat reluctantly and unenthusiastically my initial impressions, when I arrived at Woodhall Spa, were not especially favourable. At Spilsby with two squadrons of Lancasters, each with seven to the crew, there was a very considerable number of air crew personnel to chum up with, whereas at Woodhall there was a single squadron (617 messed quite separately from 627 Squadron) with only two crew per aircraft. So the total number of aircrew with whom to make friends and associate was quite small. Having said that, it was obvious that, on average, the flying personnel were generally more battle-hardened and experienced than those of a normal Main Force bomber squadron. Shortly after my arrival I moved over to the Officers’ Mess and soon found that although I had joined a smaller ‘family’ I was with excellent comrades for whom I quickly acquired considerable respect. One really did feel that one was a member of a ‘crack’ unit.
At first, flying in Mosquitoes proved a daunting experience for the 6ft tall Bill Burke, who was dismayed at the prospect of having to escape from a burning Mosquito through an opening the about the size of a ‘large rabbit hutch door’. After a few familiarisation flights he soon thought to himself, ‘My God what have I let myself in for?’ And devoutly wished to be back aboard a Lancaster! Another problem was light, or the lack of it. In a Lancaster a navigator was able to flood the navigating table and instruments with light as curtains prevented light entering the cockpit. In a Mosquito he was expected to navigate with a small insignificant light playing on his chart. Burke wanted as much light as possible. Conversely, his pilot, concerned about attracting night fighters, wanted as little light as possible; indeed, if it had been feasible he would have preferred his navigator to work in the dark. Bill explains:
One way or another I was totally uneasy and lacking in confidence as I navigated us towards the Mittelland canal and then I had an extraordinary stroke of good fortune. At ‘H-10’ (ten minutes before H-Hour) I announced to Sam that by my calculations we were precisely over the target and precisely to time. Hardly had I spoken when the first batch of illuminating flares hit the sky and came cascading down around us. Never having seen them before I mistakenly supposed that they were parachutists and shouted out accordingly. To have been brought to the target with such exactitude in terms of time and position must have made Sam think that he had acquired one of the best navigators in Bomber Command. (A misapprehension, which I certainly put right on a later operation when I missed the target by 40-50 miles!) Be that as it may, the next ten minutes proved to be exciting to a degree, which I find difficult to put into words. The illuminating flares and searchlights made the whole area as bright as day or at least as bright as the brightest moonlight. The sky was a mass of exploding anti-aircraft shells and lazily moving streams of tracer amongst which we played a competitive game of ‘who can find the target first?’ Scudding above the ground at well below 1,000ft we heard one of the other markers shout, “Tally Ho” and saw his marker strike the ground and burst into coloured fire. I listened as Marker Leader inspected the accuracy and gave us instructions for backing up the marker on the ground. As Sam and I dive bombed with our marker I could see the ground in almost minute detail. With our marker released and bomb doors closed we hurried off for home as fast as our two Merlins would take us. As we did so and still hyped up from the excitement of the attack, I thought of what we had done. I marvelled at the smooth organisation and knew that I would never do anything else in life, which could match the excitement and elation, which this form of flying offered. And I never have. It made the adrenaline run like a ten-minute ‘white-knuckle’ ride! (The operation against the Mittelland canal was repeated the following night and it proved equally exciting).
The Master Bomber ordered the 20/21 February raid to be abandoned because the area was covered by low cloud and it prevented anyone marking the target. The 5 Group force was diverted due to fog at their bases and ‘Darkie’ Hallows landed at RAF Coltishall. Hallows recalls:
On 21 February the raid was repeated and the Canal was well and truly marked and clobbered. I did not drop markers, as the aiming point was well marked and backing up was not required.
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Including diversionary and minor operations aircraft, 1,283 sorties were flown on the night of 20/21 February. Included in this grand total were sixty-six Mosquitoes of 8 Group that went to Berlin. One of these was B.XVI MM202 V-Victor, which was flown by Flight Lieutenant Leicester G. Smith
RNZAF
and his RAF navigator Warrant Officer Bill Lane who were flying their 31st operation on 128 Squadron. Smith recalls:
Our flight time was 4 hours 15 minutes. Many and varied are the experiences Bill and I shared over enemy territory, but that evening we certainly had our fair share. We were over the ‘Big City’ at 20.10 hours. We had quite a fire raging in the cockpit prior to the release of our ‘Cookie’ and on our bombing run. I didn’t realise its importance as, at the time, my attention was on the controls, but seeing the flames a foot in length urgent action was required. At the time we were at 27,000ft, ahead of schedule by 3 minutes, so climbed the aircraft for the bombing run. Within a few seconds the cockpit was filled with black smoke following from the flames, which Bill thought at first was from the outside. My first action was to dive the aircraft, thinking incendiary bullets from an enemy fighter had hit us. The flames were out before Bill could use the fire extinguisher and with target indicators ahead, we dropped the ‘Cookie’. The resulting dive found the aircraft at 22,000ft, so I turned onto 296° and on the way out an enemy fighter jumped us, as indicated by the white flashing ‘Boozer’ light in the cockpit. I took evasive action but as nothing happened I climbed back to operational height. All told a very busy 5 minutes. However, I am a little ahead with my story. It had been a wonderful night flying the German skies with, at times, cirrus cloud for protection, but on the whole quite clear. Flying in near Hanover the plotting became serious, as the contrails were plainly visible to the enemy. At 20.00 hours I switched over to the main fuel tanks, with V-Victor cruising at a steady 180 knots, while Bill computed his final course to Berlin. In the distance and at operational height, we could plainly see the lights of the advancing Russian Army approximately 50 miles away and east from Berlin. To the north the Germans had lit their Dummy City, so that before our ETA it was quite a pretty sight. However, with our own red and yellow target indicators clearly visible, on these we bombed Berlin.
It was during our bombing run that the fire started and so did the problems. In fact, who would feel secure at the thought of baling out over the ‘Big City’ with all the ‘Cookies’ bursting. But my chief concern was getting V-Victor back to good flying condition. We had lost 5,000ft in the dive. At a steady 200 knots and back at 26,000ft turned onto a course of 285°. Near Hanover the guns were opening up on the incoming wave of Mosquitoes, one of which nearly hit us. Seeing the black outline rushing towards our aircraft at an incredible speed, I just had time to ease the control column back and fly over the top of the other aircraft. Left to ourselves, the enemy plotting ceased and then was able to enjoy the glory of the German skies. With no navigational equipment serviceable, Bill pinpointed himself over the Dutch coast, the water shone in brilliance, giving perfect relief to the coastline. Over the North Sea we received a Vector from ‘Largetype’ [a codeword for the controller] to steer 305°, only 20° difference from Bill’s original course. We returned to clear sky over England, landed at Wyton 21.53 hours, after circling base for 15 minutes. Because Gee and LORAN navigational aids went unserviceable at the same instant we assumed the fire was the cause. On return the aircraft was checked and no sign found of a fire from the motors. We were both very relieved and again our faithful friend, V-Victor, brought us safely home.
On 28 February/1 March when seventy-four Mosquitoes went to Berlin, five Mosquitoes of 627 Squadron dropped mines in the Kiel Canal. On the night of 2/3 March seven Mosquitoes of 627 Squadron were despatched to the Kiel Canal to lay mines. One of the Mosquito pilots who took part, Flying Officer Ron Olsen
DFC
, remembers:
Because of the strong coastal and river bank defences, mining in daylight was out. The raids had to be done at low level and at night. The moon being used as a means of illumination, it would have to be a full or almost full moon. The mine-dropping run would be towards the moon, as that gave best visibility and the best time would be before the moon had risen too high above the horizon, giving a better reflection from the water. The use of surprise was necessary so that the defences would not be alerted until the last possible moment. The mines themselves had to be dropped from a very low altitude as their individual arming systems, fusing and detonators would be damaged by too great an impact with the water. The placing of the mines to create the greatest amount of destruction to shipping required accuracy of timing and positioning. These were some of the factors considered in the planning of the operation. The Kiel Canal and Elbe River were both suitable targets for this method of laying naval mines and the Mosquito was well suited for this type of attack. The trips necessitated flying low over the North Sea to cross the enemy coast and find the appropriate river mouth, still at low level to keep up the element of surprise, flying through the defences along the route, picking out the identifying landmarks along the way to lead into the dropping point. It was very necessary to find the leading marks so that the mines could be dropped on the first run in, it being very hazardous missing the aiming point and having to line-up and run into the dropping zone a second time.
Flying Officer John Watt, Flight Lieutenant Johnny Whitehead’s navigator on 627 Squadron, adds:
I was flat on the floor, looking down through the optical flat in the nose of the Mosquito, trying to map read along the canal in the moonlight and pretending we were not there. Flying at around 200ft I noticed a faint orange light reflected from the water. Having checked that we had not accidentally switched on any navigation lights I noticed that the reflection was not in quite the same place as before. On further close examination I discovered that I was looking through the perspex canopy of another Mosquito flying below and was seeing the dim orange light that the navigator used to illuminate his log and chart! After dropping, care had to be exercised as you climbed away for home as the flak ships at the entrance to the rivers and elsewhere were very active. Once over the sea and clear of the Islands it was possible to head for home without much worry as our speed would keep us clear of most troubles.
172
On 5 March we flew in P-Peter to a synthetic-oil refinery target at Böhlen. Target marking was to be in the top corner of a quarry, backed up with green TIs. This was another long trip: we were airborne for 5 hours 20 minutes, landing back at Woodhall about 20 minutes past midnight.
173
During the month of March the squadron continued with various operations bearing in mind that the Allies were pressing forward across France and the Low countries and needing aerial support. Also, the Russian offensive was pushing westward and the destruction of targets now coming within our flying range would help the Russians. Strategic targets such as oil refineries at Harburg and the town of Wesel, which had become packed with troops behind the German lines, were bombed on several occasions. However, the laying of mines in the Elbe and canals continued.
174
One of the most dramatic marking operations of the war occurred on 14 March when eight Oboe Mosquitoes of 105 and 109 Squadrons set out to mark for 5 Group Lancasters in attacks on the Bielefeld and Arnsberg viaducts. For filming purposes a 627 Squadron Mosquito at Woodhall Spa accompanied the Lancasters attacking the Bielefeld viaduct. Four Mosquitoes attempting to mark the Arnsberg viaduct for 9 Squadron failed in the attempt, with no damage to the viaduct. Three of the Oboe Mosquitoes were unable to mark the Bielefeld viaduct for 617 Squadron but Flying Officer G.W. Edwards of 105 Squadron succeeded in getting his markers on target and more than 100 yards of the Bielefeld viaduct collapsed under the explosions.
175
That same night 244 Lancasters and ten Mosquitoes of 5 Group attacked the Wintershall synthetic-oil refinery at Lützkendorf. For Bill Burke in 627 Squadron it was only the third time he had occasion to fly an operation on Mosquitoes since his first two against the Mittelland Canal in late February. If he expected the same excitement then he was bitterly disappointed as he explains: