Chapter Eight
The New Year began with a bang, as the Luftwaffe launched its ill-conceived and ill-fated Operation Bodenplatte (Baseplate) at first light on the 1st. The intention was to destroy the Allied air forces on the ground at the recently liberated airfields in France, Belgium and Holland, and this was only modestly achieved. It cost the enemy around 150 pilots, killed, wounded or captured, and it was a setback from which the Luftwaffe would never recover. A legacy of the operation was itchy fingers among American anti-aircraft gunners, and a number of RAF bombers would suffer the consequences in the immediate aftermath. For 3 Group the year began as the old one had ended, with a raid on the railway yards at Vohwinkel in the early evening of the 1st. 218 Squadron despatched seventeen aircraft, one of which, PB768 XH-B, was hit by flak over the target damaging fuel lines to the port-inner engine, which was quickly feathered. Over Namur, homeward bound at 11,000 feet, the Lancaster was hit by American anti-aircraft fire, emanating from the 184th Gun Battalion, which held a defensive position along the River Meuse, and had seen considerable action during the recent Battle of the Bulge. Unbeknown to F/O Grivell, a minimum height order was in force over the area during the hours of darkness because of the importance of the rail and road bridges across the Meuse, the whole area was hotly defended.
Grievously hit, the entire port side of the Lancaster caught fire, and realising that the flames were spreading, the pilot gave the order to bail out. Almost immediately the aircraft was hit again, and went into a violent spin. The Canadian bomb aimer, F/O George Ingram, was thrown forward onto the bombsight, where the centrifugal force wedged him against the Perspex nose. Gripped by desperation, he kicked his way through and vacated the Lancaster at 2,000 feet, leaving the flight engineer, Sgt L Peckett, trapped in the forward section without his parachute. On landing, and believing he was still in occupied Belgium, Ingram spent a day and night wandering the countryside, exhausted and wounded, until finally giving himself up to a number of soldiers, who turned out to be American. He was the sole survivor from the crew, which had been on its fifth operation, the pilot on his seventh. Dick Perry:
Day raid on Vohwinkel, trip #21. Off the ground at 3.30 pm into clear skies. Bombed visually on target indicators, a cookie and 14/500s. Target was, again, a marshalling yard, and was clearly visible. Masses of searchlights criss-crossing the sky and every now and then, holding an aircraft in their beam. Masses of fighter planes, both coming in and going out which kept Robbie and our rear gunner, Harry, very busy. Our first experience with flash less flak, impossible to see where it is bursting. Escaped, unscathed, and were back at base at 10 pm.
3 Group dispatched two forces in daylight on the 3rd, to attack oil production plants at Castrop-Rauxel and Dortmund using G-H. 218 Squadron’s seventeen participants were assigned to the former, which they found to be cloud-covered. The bombing appeared to be accurate and concentrated in the face of moderate predicted flak, and five Lancasters were hit. As the force turned for home white smoke was seen to be rising through the clouds, and all the crews were safely back at base by 15.42hrs. Dick Perry:
Day raid on Castrop Rauxel, trip #22. A daylight raid. Again a marshalling yard over 10/10 cloud. We were leading the group and got all the predicted stuff on our run in to the target. Bombed on G-H, a cookie and 14x500s. This was the first time that we’d been hit and, on landing, we counted 27 holes of various sizes and a piece taken half way through an elevator control rod!!!! Thankful for no injuries. Back on deck at 3.30 pm.
Before operations could begin on the 5th everyone, including W/Cdr Smith, was out clearing snow from the runways to enable the squadron to join an attack on the marshalling yards at Ludwigshafen. Ten Lancasters left Chedburgh after 11.00hrs and joined a further 150 from the group. Three of the 218 Squadron contingent turned back early along with five others from the group, but the remainder pressed on into southern Germany. A navigation error brought the force over Worms and Mannheim, and over 50% of the aircraft were damaged by flak. A number of enemy fighters appeared, but they were dealt with by the escorting Mustangs. Visibility over the target was excellent, and crews bombed from between 19,000 and 20,000 feet. Numerous explosions were seen across the marshalling yards, and other loads were seen to detonate in the town itself, some of them hitting the I.G Farben works and causing a vivid explosion.
1 and 3 Groups joined forces on the night of 6/7th to attack the marshalling yards at Neuss. Ten 218 Squadron Lancasters took part, one of which returned early. The initial marking was reported as concentrated, but a number of flares were rather less accurate, and bombing was reported to be rather scattered. Even so, more than seventeen hundred houses and nineteen industrial premises were destroyed or seriously damaged. Approaching the target at 19,000 feet LM187 XH-B was tossed about violently, possibly the result of a slipstream, the Lancaster was almost flipped it onto its back. Flying Officer David Banton managed to bring the Lancaster back onto an even keel, but the port-outer propeller started to run away and could not be feathered. The aircraft became uncontrollable and began to lose height, and even the dumping of the cookie had no effect. As it passed through 14,000 feet the remaining bombs were jettisoned and the operation was abandoned. They were turning for home when the port-outer caught fire, and as the flames showed no signs of responding to attempts to quell them, fuel to both port engines was cut off, and the port-inner feathered. The power to the starboard engines was increased, but the trim had been lost, and it now became a battle to retain control. When twenty miles south-east of Brussels and down to 4,500 feet the pilot gave the order to abandon the aircraft. The flight engineer, Sgt Simms, accidentally deployed his parachute inside the aircraft, and was unwilling to risk using it. He asked the wireless operator, Sgt Longley, to allow him to cling to his back in a joint descent, and realising the extent of his colleague’s predicament, Sgt Longley readily agreed, despite the risk to himself. As always seemed to happen in these desperate cases, when the parachute jerked open the flight engineer fell to his death. Sergeant Longley came down into trees and was badly injured, but survived the experience, and was awarded the coveted CGM for his selfless act.
Having satisfied himself that he was alone in the aircraft, the pilot made his way forward to the escape hatch, whereupon the now pilotless Lancaster went into a spin. He scrambled back to the cockpit, and managed by some miracle to regain control and bring the Lancaster back onto an even keel. At 1,200 feet he finally managed to bail out, but his harness slipped, and he found himself hanging only by the right foot. He immediately put a scissor lock on to his harness in a desperate attempt to stop himself falling to his death. Upside down and disorientated, Banton curled himself up as best as he could, and landed uninjured in deep snow on the side of a hill. On getting to his feet he could see a clearing at the bottom of the hill. Wading through the snow Banton manage to walk to Chateau de Savenel, where he found help and shelter. All the survivors were well cared for, the navigator F/O Lillis remaining in the 8th Military Hospital in Brussels, while Sgt Longley was kept for a few days in 101 Hospital Louvan. The remaining crew members were back with the squadron by the 10th and immediately sent on leave. The crew had been on its fifth operation, and Banton on his sixth. Dick Perry:
Night raid on Neuss, trip #23. Off the ground at 4 pm into 10/10 cloud. Another marshalling yard and bombed on G-H, a cookie and 14x500s. Very little flak. Used window on the way out from the target, very messy as the bundles tend to break up and the strips get jammed everywhere. On crossing the Channel we were told to divert to Mildenhall where we spent the night. Back to base on the 6th.
Another night operation was laid on for the 7/8th, which involved 645 Lancasters from 1, 3, 5, 6 and 8 Groups attacking Munich. It was a disappointing night for 218 Squadron, with four early returns out of the twelve Lancasters dispatched. Wing Commander Smith, commonly referred to as the “Vicar”, was not happy with some of the decisions to abort. One of the reasons for the recent spate of early returns was attributed to the age and condition of some of the war-weary Lancasters recently taken on charge to form C Flight. In an effort to create the additional flight quickly the squadron had received a number of aircraft from other squadrons within the group, and they had taken the opportunity to offload their hacks!! The squadron did not operate for the next three days, after heavy snow and fog descended upon Chedburgh.
The 11th brought a return to daylight operations with an attack on the Uerdingen marshalling yards at Krefeld. Fifteen of the 3 Group force of 152 Lancasters were provided by 218 Squadron, and after forming up they headed towards France in solid cloud. An escort of seven squadrons of RAF Mustangs joined the gaggle as it crossed into Germany, and with cloud tops up to 23,000 feet, the followers struggled to keep their G-H leaders in sight. This led to a strung-out formation and some scattered bombing, but the defences were, fortunately, barely active. Operating with A Flight’s Commander, S/Ldr O’Brian, who was tasked as deputy base leader, was G/C W Brotherhood, who was operating in the role of second pilot aboard PD323. This was strictly against all the rules, and was actively discouraged not only by group but also by Bomber Command HQ. However, to the members of the squadron it meant a tremendous amount, and went a long way to increase morale. One isolated Bf109 carried out an attack on a Lancaster in the rear of the formation, but it was quickly seen off by the Mustangs. The weather once again intervened on the 12th, this time in the form of continuous sleet, turning into rain, with a cloud base down to 300 feet. The first consignment of the new Frazer Nash FN121 turrets arrived at 31 Base on this date, but installation was delayed because of the failure at the factory to fit the appropriate gun sight. It would take a further two weeks for the squadron to receive a training turret and to equip two of the Lancasters.
The marshalling yards at Saarbrücken were attacked on the 13th, with 218 Squadron represented by sixteen Lancasters. An overall 3 Group force of over 150 aircraft was shepherded to the target by RAF Mustangs, and carried out a concentrated attack in fair visibility under the protection of US 9th Air Force fighters, which saw the bombers safely home. There was no opposition from the enemy, and the operation was described as almost a “milk run”. The squadron bade farewell to S/Ldr Peter Dunham DFC on the 15th, on his posting to Tuddenham to command 90 Squadron. He had operated twenty-nine times with 218 Squadron as an observer in 1941, and since his return in October 1944 as a qualified pilot, he had added a further ten operations.
The new name of Erkenschwick appeared on the battle order on the 15th, a small town close to Recklinghausen and Gelsenkirchen in the Ruhr. Eighty-two Lancasters from 31 and 32 Bases were given its Benzol Plant to attack in mid afternoon, when green and blue smoke puff markers were used for the first time. Squadron Leader John O’Brien was again given the deputy base leader role, to which he and his crew were becoming accustomed. Frustratingly the stream was reported to be poor and strung out, and returning crews complained that bombing took considerably longer than intended, but still appeared to be concentrated. Flak was encountered on this occasion, and a quarter of the participating Lancasters sustained damage. A Benzol plant at Wanne-Eickel was the group’s target on the night of the 16/17th, and twelve 218 Squadron Lancasters lined up for take-off at Chedburgh. Eight got away successfully, before one strayed off the perimeter track and shorted out the lights. This Lancaster was scrubbed, along with three waiting behind, and another was forced to return early with engine problems. 130 Lancasters ultimately converged on the target to find it completely cloud-covered, to the extent that even search lights were unable to penetrate it. Some crews reported a large red glow through the clouds with a number of sky markers directly above it, and the explosions of the cookies could clearly be seen. Intense flak was encountered, but none of the squadron’s aircraft was damaged.
After a succession of cancelled operations, Bomber Command dispatched 286 crews to attack the benzol plants at Bruckhausen, Duisburg on the night of the 22/23rd. 3 Group’s contribution of 130 Lancasters came from 31, 32 and 33 Bases. 218 Squadron was represented by fifteen led by Australian F/L Linder RAAF. The target was identified by red and green TIs dropped by the Pathfinders, and in the moonlight conditions, bombing was concentrated. Returning crews were enthusiastic about the outcome, and F/Sgt Connell’s crew reported “huge fires and a big pall of smoke over the aiming point”. Flak was moderate to intense, and PD229 XH-D, flown by F/O R Welsh RAAF, lost its starboard-outer, while another from the squadron suffered a large hole in the windscreen and port clear vision panel. Thankfully neither crew received any injuries.
After another four days of inactivity 3 Group dispatched 153 Lancasters on a daylight operation to the Gremberg marshalling yards at Cologne on the morning of the 28th. 218 Squadron contributed twenty Lancasters led by W/Cdr Smith, the crews arrived over the target at around 20,000 feet shortly after 14.00hrs to face accurate heavy flak. Wing Commander Smith’s PD256 HA-J was repeatedly hit, sustaining in the process damage to the front turret and the airscrew lever quadrant, and the trim control next to the pilot’s seat was also smashed. Undeterred, Smith, operating in the role of deputy base leader, continued on his bomb run. Two Lancasters in his formation were seen to be badly hit, and this dispersed the spearhead of the formation, causing the bombing by the lead section to be scattered and fall mainly to starboard of the planned aiming point. This was quickly corrected, and the following stream carried out accurate bombing on G-H, numerous bomb loads were seen to fall across the target. Crews were critical of the lead formation, and reported some bombs falling ten miles short of the aiming point. Flak accounted for two 218 Squadron Lancasters from W/Cdr Smith’s gaggle, each containing an experienced crew. LM281 HA-E was hit just before bombing, and was seen to be losing height with both port engines feathered. Flight Lieutenant Hodnett and his crew all managed to take to their parachutes, and arrived safely on the ground to begin a short term in captivity. It had been the crew’s seventh operation and F/L Hodnett’s tenth. Tragically the other loss involved thirty-five-year-old W/O Gilbert Evers, who was on his thirtieth operation. PD296 HA-B was seen by W/Cdr Smith to be still apparently under control and in the stream just after leaving the target area, but soon afterwards it went into a dive. At 10,000 feet Evers managed to regain some control, but the Lancaster was hit again by flak and crashed near Bergisch-Gladbach about fourteen miles east-north-east of the target, killing all but one of the eight occupants. Operating as group leader for the squadrons of 31 Base, the crew contained an additional navigator, F/O F Norton, who survived in enemy hands. Evers had a reputation within the squadron of being an exceptional pilot, having been a pre-war regular, who left the RAF to join Imperial Airways. When war was declared he re-joined the RAF with something like four thousand hours in his log book. Apparently he had refused a commission, but there was absolutely no doubt that he was a very senior pilot on the squadron, and was known in the mess as “Pop” Evers. Dick Perry:
Cologne again, trip #25. Took off at 10 am over 10/10 cloud. The southern marshalling yards again and bombing on G-H. Very impersonal. We follow the track on the screen until we see a blip, enter the wind speed data and start counting, open the bomb bay doors and, after the required time interval, drop the bombs. Often wondered how many of these bombs actually landed on target, sight unseen. Back to base and landed at 3 pm. This was the trip that saw Evers and crew shot down on the last trip of their tour. Too bad but it happens.
On the way home W/Cdr Smith’s flight engineer, W/O Williams, carried out urgently needed repairs to both the trim control and airscrew lever quadrant, but the temporary repairs still demanded a careful landing. Wing Commander Smith and his engineer, W/O David Williams, would be awarded a DFC for their actions on this operation. The last operation of the month was a return to the Uerdingen marshalling yards north east of Krefeld on the 29th. 3 Group dispatched a force of 148 Lancasters to destroy rolling stock and disrupt railway movement at this vital hub, half-way between Duisburg and Mönchengladbach. Twenty-one 218 Squadron crews were aloft from Chedburgh by 10.39hrs, and just one returned early. The entire outward flight was characterised by solid cloud, and the crews never once caught sight of the ground. The fighter escort made rendezvous on schedule and shepherded the formation to the target, where light flak was encountered. The bombing appeared to be concentrated, but was later found to have been scattered. Even so, a number of rails were cut and a bridge suffered the collapse of two spans, sixty-six craters were counted within the marshalling yards. Dick Perry:
Day raid on Krefeld, trip #26. Up at 12 noon into clear skies. We saw very little flak but others told us that they were faced with heavy stuff. Bombed on G-H, a cookie and 14x500s, and headed for home where we arrived at 3.30.
Heavy snow and low stratus covered much of East Anglia on the 30th preventing any operations, and this weather would continue over to the 31st. On the last day of the month, 3 Lancaster Finishing School at Feltwell was disbanded. Those crews still requiring training were sent to C Flight of 90 Squadron for completion of their programme. It had been a busy but frustrating month for the squadron, in which the weather had rendered fifteen days unfit for operations. Seven daylight and six night operations had been carried out, resulting in 187 sorties flown, which put the squadron fourth on the 3 Group sortie ladder. The squadron had dropped a total of 744 tons of bombs for the loss of two crews, and had provided the lead aircraft for the group on several occasions.
An inconclusive operation to the marshalling yards at Mönchengladbach took place on the 1st, when twenty-one 218 Squadron Lancasters contributed to the 160-strong force dispatched by the group. They attacked a cloud-covered target, at which the marker flares were scattered, and this allowed much of the bombing to fall starboard of the marshalling yards. There was very little resistance from the enemy defences, only some ineffective spasmodic flak, and there were no reports of damage. Dick Perry:
Day raid on Mönchengladbach trip #27. Up over 10/10 cloud at 10 am. Again bombing on G-H and no flak, a cookie and 14x500lbs. Arrived back at base at 3 pm. Uneventful!!
This was followed on the night of the 2/3rd by the launching of seventeen Lancasters for an attack on Wiesbaden. Situated on the right bank of the Rhine this relatively untouched city was the target for 495 Lancasters and twelve Mosquitos of 1, 3, 6 and 8 Groups. Flying with F/Lt L Harlow DFC as second pilot, and again flaunting regulations, was the station commander, G/C Brotherhood. One aircraft returned early, but the remainder pressed on to find the target obscured by a thick blanket of cloud. Five selected crews bombed on G-H, while the remainder aimed at the glow of fires beneath the clouds. The city’s defences were described as negligible, but night fighters were evident. Useful damage was caused to a number of important factories and buildings, including the main railway station, which was an important connection to Cologne, Mannheim and Hanover. Dick Perry:
Senior Officers Chedburgh 1945. Left to right W/Cdr Smith, F/L Hunter GH specialist, S/Ldr Mayle RAAF station navigation leader, S/Ldr Jell DFC flight commander, F/Lt H Russell, bombing leader, Group Captain Brotherhood, station commander and Air Commodore Sylvester, Base Commander RAF Stradishall.
Night raid on Wiesbaden, trip #28. Off the ground at 8 pm over 10/10 cloud. Again bombing on G-H and no flak. Usual load. Had to climb up to 22,000 feet on the way home to clear the CuNims. Back to base and landed at 1.30 am.
On the late afternoon of the 3rd fifteen 218 Squadron Lancasters took off for the Hansa Coking Plant at Dortmund. Wing Commander Smith returned with engine trouble after three hours, but the remainder, along with around 130 other Lancasters from the group, attacked the target in clear skies, but conditions of ground haze made visual identification difficult. Marking was undertaken by selected G-H crews from each squadron in the face of a rare and spirited searchlight, flak and fighter defence, seven crews reported combats, including 218 Squadron’s F/L Harlow and Nixon, both of whom had encounters with twin engine fighters. Whether or not this was responsible, the bombing missed the mark. Dick Perry’s dairy records the tension:
Night raid on Dortmund, trip #29. A very shaky trip. Took off at 5 pm to arrive over the target just after dark. Hundreds of searchlights everywhere, and flak bursts all over the sky. G-H again went out and we bombed visually, on sky markers. Dozens of fighters around us but managed to get out without a scratch. Robbie and Harry again very busy. Back to base and landed 10 pm.
The squadron was stood down on the following three days before an operation to the synthetic oil plant at Wanne-Eickel was mounted on the 7th. One hundred Lancasters from 31 and 32 Bases were dispatched, and they were met by solid cloud, which persisted all the way to the target, making it difficult for crews to follow their allotted G-H leaders. As the formation approached Aachen the stream started to break up into individual vics and small formations, and by the time it passed between Cologne and Düsseldorf the stream had become elongated. The cloud continued to cause a number of problems, with visibility at times down to less than two hundred yards. Flying Officer Wilson RAAF stated, “complete shambles, just lucky we saw a leader”. With the stream strung out the window coverage was greatly reduced, and this allowed the Rhine/Ruhr defences to put up an effective and accurate barrage. Flying Officer Charlton and crew had luck on their side, as a flak shell passed through the port wing’s main spar of PB291 HA-O without exploding while they were on the bomb run. A number of crews had problems obtaining a G-H pulse, after the failure of a heavy mobile G-H station, and a light mobile G-H station was operating at extreme range. As a result bombing accuracy was poor. Dick Perry:
Day raid on Wanne-Eickel, trip #30. Off the ground at 10 am and fine weather until we hit the French coast. Took the aircraft up to 25,000 feet to clear the CuNims and stayed there until we reached the target. Dropped to 22,000 to unload bombs on G-H, the usual load, and back up again right after. Predicted flak followed us all the way in and out. Much weaving to avoid the predictors. We ended up being the only aircraft on the station that got the G-H signal. Back at base at 3 pm.
A tragic accident involving F/O William Perry occurred on station on the evening of the 7th. Flying Officer Jim Griffin, bomb aimer in the crew of F/O D Banton recalls:
On the afternoon of February 7th both Bill and I went into Bury to go to the cinema, that night there was an auction of cakes and other goodies being held during the interval. This was to raise money for a “Salute to the Soldier week”. Both Bill and I paid £2.10.0d, quite a some in those days for the cakes. When we come out the cinema I suggested we go back to base by bus, but Bill said “Let’s go to the cafe and have a cup of tea and we will catch the station wagon at the rail station.” Off we marched with our cakes for a cuppa. We caught the wagon back which was as usual very full resulting in us having to stand at the back. When we got back to Chedburgh the wagon stopped at the Guard room, Bill jumped out over the tail gate and just as he did so the driver went into reverse knocking Bill over and reversed over him, killing him almost instantly. I was struck numb, only hours before he was laughing and full of life. I threw the cakes over the hedge and walked towards the officer’s mess. I was so traumatised I did not tell anyone that I had been with Bill, not even when his parents came to collect his body, I just could not meet them.
Krefeld’s main railway station at Hohenbudberg was the target for 151 Lancasters from 3 Group in the early hours of the 9th. Seventeen 218 Squadron aircraft took off with a time over target of 05.30hrs. Most of the sky marking was well concentrated, and the bomb loads fell directly beneath them. For the first time in months the returning crews reported a number of “Scarecrows” over the target, and one Lancaster was seen to explode at 06.18hrs. Despite the positive reports of returning crews, post raid reconnaissance showed that the majority of the bombing had fallen north-west of the aiming point. This was the last operation undertaken by F/L “Robbie” Robertson RAAF and crew, who had now completed their tour of thirty-one operations, although Robbie had completed one more. Dick Perry:
Night raid on Hohenberg, trip #31 – OUR LAST. Briefed at 12.45pm and take-off into clear sky at 4 am. A few scattered searchlights over the target and very little flak. One of aircraft in front of us blew up, again for some unexplained reason. Target was a marshalling yards and, again, bombed on G-H. Back to base and landed at about 8 am. Congratulated all round on finishing our operational tour.
The group was not required to operate again until the night of February 13th, when the target was the city of Dresden. This was the first in a series of heavy raids to be conducted against Germany’s eastern cities under the codename THUNDERCLAP, ostensibly in support of the advancing Russian forces. A group record of 168 Lancasters was available for the operation, and twenty of these were to be provided by 218 Squadron. It would be the first and last visit to the Saxon capital, which was Germany’s seventh-largest city, and, according to the RAF at the time, the largest remaining un-bombed built-up area in Germany. Although this operation would become a political hot potato later on, for the crews at Chedburgh it was just another raid, and a long one to boot. It took just over an hour to get the squadron airborne, and four returned early, thus sparing Dresden 27,000lbs of bombs. The main force of more than five hundred Lancasters from 1, 3, 6 and 8 Groups was following in the wake of a 5 Groups opening assault carried out three hours earlier. The fires started by 5 Group acted as a beacon to the second wave, and in clear skies they delivered over 1,700 tons of high explosives and incendiaries to add to the eight hundred tons dropped earlier. Returning crews were for once unanimous in their assessment of the raid as successful. Flying Officer Wilson RAAF reported, “Exceptionally good attack”, while C Flight’s S/Ldr G Allardyce stated, “Magnificent attack, whole town ablaze”. Flight Lieutenant Spiers confirmed that, “Patten of streets could be seen by light of incendiaries, fires seen at least 250 miles from target area“. A firestorm developed within the city, and initial estimates of the death toll reached 250,000. This was due in part to the large number of refugees swarming in from the east ahead of the Russians, and no one knew just how many people were in the city. It is now accepted that the true death toll is nearer 25,000, which puts it second only to Hamburg.
Operation Thunderclap continued on the following night, when over seven hundred Lancasters and Halifaxes targeted Chemnitz, the third largest city in Saxony. Such was the city’s war production capability, which included the important Astra-Werk AG oil plant, that this industrial centre was often referred to as the “Saxon Manchester”. The operation followed the pattern of the previous night, with two forces bombing three hours apart, 4 and 6 Groups taking the first shift and 1 and 3 Groups the second. Fifteen 218 Squadron Lancasters departed Chedburgh as part of a 31 Base effort of fifty-one Lancasters, which were part of the third and final wave on target, scheduled to bomb during a four minute slot, eight minutes after the opening of the second attack. Small fires had already taken hold as they arrived in the target area at around 20,000 feet, and in the cloudy conditions the Pathfinder backers-up were employing sky markers. A few isolated fires visible below the cloud attracted a number of bomb loads, but the 218 Squadron crews allowed themselves to be guided by the Master Bomber, call sign “Falstaff”. It was difficult to assess the results, and crews had mixed impressions of the bombing. Flying Officer Hill reported, “tactics alright, but Pathfinders missing“, while F/L Spiers recounted “bombing appeared scattered“. Flight Lieutenant Guinane thought that the city was “a big mass of flame with incendiaries burning over a large area.” The Guinane crew became involved in an encounter with a twin engine fighter fitted with an orange light in the nose. It was seen at 23.29hrs at 17,000 feet at a range of 1,000 yards. The fighter reappeared at 600 yards with the nose light switched off, and the order to “corkscrew port” was given at the same time. Both gunners opened fire, the fighter was lost momentarily, only to reappear on the starboard beam dropping tracking flares. Thereafter it was not seen again, and there was no injuries to the crew or damage to Lancaster LM577 HA-Q. Post raid photo-reconnaissance established that the main weight of the bombing had fallen into open countryside.
A series of devastating attacks on what was now the frontier town of Wesel opened on the 16th, when a hundred 3 Group Lancasters carried out an accurate and punishing daylight raid. A follow-up on the 17th by 247 Halifaxes and twenty-seven Lancasters was aborted as soon as it began in the face of complete cloud cover. 218 Squadron took part in the third raid on the 18th, which was another 3 Group affair. 162 Lancasters were involved, of which twenty-one represented 218 Squadron. The twenty-two squadrons of Spitfires and Mustangs joined the bombers just south of the Belgian town of Mechelen, and shepherded them to Wesel, which sat on the confluence of the Rhine and Lippe Rivers. It served as a vital transportation centre with a number of semi intact bridges and important railway yards within it. With a planned major offensive by the Canadian First Army it fell to the bombers to block the arrival of German reinforcements. Time over target was planned for between 14.00hrs and 14.07hrs, but weather conditions outbound were not ideal, with cloud tops up to 12,000 feet, and this resulted in the group becoming strung out. 31 Base provided seventeen G-H leaders, six of them from 218 Squadron, the crews bombed on a number of green smoke puffs from between 17,000 and 19,000 feet. Bombing was reported as concentrated, and one crew observed a direct hit on a bridge and the collapse of a span.
The assault continued on the 19th, when 169 Lancasters were dispatched in late afternoon sunshine, among them eighteen from 218 Squadron. Spitfires and Mustangs of 11 Group provided protection, but the formation encountered no opposition until reaching the Rhine at Emmerich, where heavy flak was thrown up. There was a thin layer of cloud in the target area with tops up to 6,000 feet, and the crews were able to pick out some ground detail. The bombing was reported as concentrated, and explosions were observed in the town and in the marshalling yards with smoke slowly rising. The tragic news that W/Cdr Peter Dunham DFC, now commanding officer of 90 Squadron, had been lost on the operation began to filter through to his former colleagues at 218 Squadron on the 20th, and even the cynical and hardened veterans on the squadron felt the loss of this former flight commander. Peter Dunham, with his bristling whiskers, was gone. The thirty-two-year-old father of one epitomised the bravery and courage of his generation and the men of Bomber Command. His flight had been taken over by veteran air gunner, S/Ldr R Jell. Ronald Jell’s operational career had started in 1940 with 9 Squadron, with which he had completed his first tour. There followed various postings as an instructor, he took part in two of the Thousand Bomber raids in 1942 when temporally attached to 7 Squadron. In January 1945 he returned to operations joining the crew of F/O Phil Dyson DFC at 3 LFS. Phillip Dyson had previously completed an operational tour with 196 Squadron in 1943, they arrived at 218 Squadron at the end of January.
An area raid on the city of Dortmund was undertaken on the night of 20/21st by 514 Lancasters of 1, 3, 6 and 8 Groups. The squadron sent fourteen Lancasters as part of a 3 Group force of 111. The squadron was part of the third wave over the target, and crews reported the city’s flak defences as moderate to intense. Night fighters were active, and several were seen in the target area, but there were no conclusive combats involving 218 Squadron aircraft. The impression was of a highly destructive raid, and some returning crews reported the glow of fires still visible eighty miles into the homeward leg. The group was split into two forces for daylight operations on the 22nd, eighty-six Lancasters of 31 and 32 Bases assigned to the Benzol Distillation plant and Coke Ovens at Scholven-Buer, while Lancasters of 33 Base joined others from Methwold to attack a similar target at Osterfeld. Weather outbound was clear but freezing, both formations met heavy flak as they penetrated the Ruhr. This was particularly so for the Scholven force, which encountered intense accurate flak on the approach to bomb. The 218 Squadron element was given the Hibernia AG Coking works to attack, and what had been a reasonably compact formation soon began to break up as flak punctured the sky and damaged six of the 218 Squadron contingent.
Squadron Leader Ron Jell DFC (centre) and his crew skippered by F/Lt Phillip Dyson DFC. Both had completed operational tours before joining the squadron.
Twenty-one-year-old F/O John Muschamp was skippering his crew on their first operation together, and they were unable to locate their allotted G-H leader in the confusion. The freshman crew managed to latch on to the vic of G-H leader F/L Spiers as the aiming point approached. The crew of Don Spier’s watched helplessly as NG450 XH-B was bracketed by flak, dense smoke soon started to pour from the fuselage. Flight Sergeant J Yates was at the controls of PD439 XH-J, and heard another crew calling “B Can I help you”? B was not heard to reply. The bomb-aimer aboard NG450 XH-B was Sgt J Halsall, he recalls:
Our aircraft was hit around 15.30 while at 18,000 feet. We were over the target area with our bomb doors open when we were first hit immediately behind the mid upper turret. It must have been some type of incendiary as the aircraft was immediately consumed by flames. I grabbed a fire extinguisher and went back to fight the fire, but there was virtually no hope. It become apparent that the controls had severed as the pilot had virtually lost all control, and he ordered the crew to bail out. The pilot gave the command EMERGENCY-JUMP-EMERGENCY JUMP JUMP JUMP followed by the words GOOD LUCK CHAPS. We were then hit again in the port wing just after I left the aircraft which was in a steep dive. From the moment of the first hit I heard nothing from the two gunners, but the Wop/Ag said that the mid upper gunner was first behind him when the aircraft blew up. My chute was slow to open and although I was the second out I was the first on the ground. I landed in a field when some Germans from the local flak battery found me. They were elated at getting me and I was initially treated well. I had received some facial burns, broken ribs and a broken ankle from the heavy landing. Later, when we were all rounded up, we were knocked about a bit by a Gestapo Officer. We were then transferred to a local police cell, where another German officer showed us the ID discs of our pilot and two gunners. After a couple of days in the cells in Gelsenkirchen (we met up with a B24 Liberator crew shot down the same day) we were transferred to Dortmund where we were housed in a bombed out cellar of a Luftwaffe barrack block. We stayed here for about a fortnight before we were re housed in a sweet-box in the interrogation centre at Frankfurt. After a fortnight’s solitary we were transferred to Weltzler Transit Camp. As the Allies were getting nearer we were again transferred, this time to Stalag XIID near Nuremburg, and after a fortnight we were moved again to Stalag VIIA Moosburg. While on route we were strafed by Yank fighters and bombed by the RAF. We were just at the point of moving to the Berchtesgaden camp when we were liberated by General Patton’s 3rd Army on Tuesday 29th April. I have nothing but admiration for Johnny Muschamp our skipper, for he must have known there was little or no chance of getting out himself, and he tried his utmost to hold the plane while we bailed out.
Flying Officer John Muschamp was the son of Group Captain George Muschamp. The brave young pilot and his two twenty-year-old gunners, Sgts George Hogg and Thomas Darragh, now lie in the Reichswald Forest War Cemetery. In all forty-nine Lancasters were damaged by flak from the eighty-six dispatched by 31 and 32 Bases, the Osterfeld force was hit equally hard with forty-six Lancasters sustaining damage. Over at Mildenhall it was reported that every Lancaster dispatched by XV and 622 Squadrons sustained flak damage!
It was back to Gelsenkirchen and Osterfeld in the cauldron of the Ruhr on the following day, when 133 aircraft were given the Alma Pluto benzol plant as their primary target. Fifteen 218 Squadron Lancasters lifted off from Chedburgh and met thick cloud as they climbed over the coast. The formation remained fairly concentrated, despite solid cloud reaching up to 19,000 feet with horizontal visibility down to less than two hundred yards at times. The thirty-eight Lancasters of 31 Base had fallen behind the rest of the formation as they crossed into Germany, the escort of six squadrons of Mustangs and Spitfires was already stretched as the groups turned south below Düsseldorf, and attracted accurate predicted flak from the city. In contrast to the previous day the flak over the target was light, and lead aircraft reported a strong G-H pulse. They were confident that bombing was accurate, although no results could be seen through the complete cloud cover.
Mist and fog kept the group on the ground on the following day, and the main activity at Chedburgh involved the gradual return of Lancasters diverted on return from the previous day’s operation. Thirteen crews were briefed to attack the Benzol oil plant at Kamen on the 25th, and they took off into the early morning overcast to rendezvous with the rest of the group at 9,000 feet over Tonbridge. One crew returned early with engine failure, while the remainder pressed on assisted by a strong tail wind that pushed them towards the target. Accurate predicted flak found them as they passed west of the Ruhr at Krefeld, but there was little opposition over the target itself. Bombing took place on a number of well placed G-H blue puff sky markers, the target was ablaze as the group turned for home. The return leg took the formation close to the Wuppertal and Leverkusen area just north of Cologne, were it was again engaged by accurate predicted flak, thirty-three Lancasters returned with various degrees of damage. A cloud-covered Hoesch Benzin oil Plant at Dortmund was attacked by 150 Lancasters of 3 Group on the 26th. Flak was negligible, and the shells that were fired burst well below the height of the bombers. Fourteen 218 Squadron aircraft attacked the target in the early afternoon, but the formation was somewhat chaotic in its timings with some sections bombing out of the planned sequence. The crews were critical of the discipline of some groups, which failed to obey the timing over target. Australian F/O R Welsh RAAF reported; “Wave briefed to be behind us got in front of us and bombed in that position”, whilst F/L K McKenzie RNZAF reported “Stream and formation went to pieces“.
There was no respite from operations for the squadron, which was briefed for a return visit to Gelsenkirchen on the 27th. Fifteen Lancasters were airborne by late morning to join 134 others from the group heading for yet another crack at the Alma Pluto Coking Plant. Flight Lieutenant Blenkin and crew operated as group leader on this operation. On approaching the target the stream separated into two formations with a five mile gap between, and, had enemy fighters attacked, the seven squadrons of escorting Spitfires would have been hard-pressed to ward them off. The squadron bombed a series of blue puff markers over a completely cloud-covered target, and the attack appeared to be concentrated around the markers.
For the fourth day in succession the squadron was called upon to operate, this time the target was the Nordstern Benzol and Coke plant in Gelsenkirchen. 3 Group dispatched 157 Lancasters on what would be the final raid of the month, and 218 Squadron provided nineteen of them. The squadron was given the honour of leading the group for this operation, which again suffered from visibility problems in the cloudy conditions, resulting in some crews finding it extremely difficult to formate on their allotted G-H leaders. This resulted in the formation being rather strung out as the cloud persisted into the Ruhr. Flak over the target was of the moderate predicted variety, and three Lancasters were hit. On leaving the target area crews reported thick black and green smoke coming up through the clouds, suggesting that the operation had been successful.
February had been a busy time for everyone on the squadron, 272 sorties had been launched on sixteen operations for the loss of one crew. This magnificent recorded kept the squadron in 4th place on the group operational ladder. 31 Group’s 195 Squadron pipped 218 with 286 sorties, while 33 Base’s 75(NZ) Squadron took second place with 294. 115 Squadron topped the listing with a remarkable 305 sorties flown, which is all the more significant given that it was a twenty-eight-day month, and weather intervened on four occasions. The entire group dropped over 10,387 tons of bombs, of which 218 Squadron’s contribution was a respectful 1,023 tons, a total that had only once been exceeded. The installation of the new FN121 turret with the gyro gun sight and VHF R/T equipment was completed during the month. Among four DFCs gazetted were one each to F/L Ronald “Taffy” Ecclestone, who had flown thirty-six operations, and F/L Charles Young RAAF, who had completed thirty-eight in November 1944. Both these pilots were destined to die young, the latter not living to see the peace he had so bravely fought for. Charles Young was killed on July 2nd 1945, when his C-47 crashed in the Milne Bay area off New Guinea, while on a special flight to the Admiralty Islands carrying Royal Navy freight. “Taffy” Ecclestone was to become the first RAF pilot to break the sound barrier in 1951, when flying the North American Sabre jet fighter. On leaving the RAF he joined Handley Page as deputy chief test pilot, he was tragically killed on July 14th 1954 while testing the prototype Victor bomber on its penultimate flight before going into production.
Germany’s oil plants remained the priority for 3 Group as the new month began, on the 1st a large force drawn from 1, 4 and 8 Groups carried out the final raid of the war on Mannheim. The 3 Group target was the oil plant at Kamen, for which 150 Lancasters were dispatched from 31, 32 and 33 Bases and Methwold. Ninety-one Mustangs picked up the bombers over the Channel, and they were joined by seventy-eight Spitfires of 11 Group over Belgium. Heavy cloud over the Continent made formation-keeping extremely difficult, causing the formation to split into two gaggles. Twelve aircraft of the leading formation overshot the turning point, resulting in the aircraft having to complete a half orbit at the target. All seventeen 218 Squadron aircraft reached and bombed the target experiencing negligible opposition before returning safely to base.
The cathedral city of Cologne was the intended target for a two phase attack on the 2nd, the first to be carried out by 698 aircraft of 1, 4, 6 and 8 Groups. This opening phase proceeded as planned, and inflicted considerable further damage to this already wrecked city. The afternoon attack by 151 Lancasters of 3 Group, of which an initial twenty-one represented 218 Squadron, was not as successful. A technical failure with the G-H releasing station resulted in most of the force returning with its bombs. The squadron had two aircraft return early, but the remainder reached the target under the umbrella of a Mustang and Spitfire escort in ideal weather conditions. Five crews were able to bomb before the operation was abandoned. Thus was Cologne spared what would have been its final few hundred tons of bombs, and it would fall within four days to the American 3rd Armoured Division.
The squadron did not operate on the 3rd, but provided twenty-one Lancasters on the following day for an attack on the Wanne-Eickel marshalling yards. They were part of a force of 128 sent to put even more pressure on the beleaguered Wehrmacht. It was believed that the Germans were using the marshallings yards to transport much needed equipment and reinforcements to the front. The formation crossed the coast over Belgium, and made for the Allied-occupied area around Cleves with its escort of ninety Mustangs in tow. The group leaders once again overshot the last turning point before reaching the target, and this initially caused some confusion. Thankfully matters had been rectified by the time the aiming point was reached, and the bombing appeared to be concentrated, although cloud prevented any assessment. The largest group effort of the month took place on the 5th, when 170 Lancasters were dispatched to the Schalke Coking Plant at Gelsenkirchen. Weather conditions were far from ideal, with considerable cloud up to 19,000 feet, poor visibility, and condensation trails forming in the freezing air. The escorting fighters found it difficult to keep their charges in sight as they flew through towering clouds and changing winds. The formation was reported to be confused as it made its way to the target, but thankfully by the time it arrived, the foreword formation at least had become compact, while the rearward formation was still spread out. The results of the bombing could not be assessed because of the cloud.
The Wintershall oil refinery at Salzbergen was the briefed target for 118 Lancasters on the 6th. Situated on the river Ems, it was the oldest oil refinery in the world, an honour that would ultimately bring death and destruction to the local town. Nineteen 218 Squadron Lancasters took off in the morning in fair weather, and joined a hundred others from the group to make their way over Belgium, where the fighter escort picked them up. The 218 Squadron element bombed between 12.13hrs and 12.19hrs from 18,000 feet on a number of well-grouped blue puff markers. Cloud once more prevented any assessment of the results, but returning crews were enthusiastic. Flight Lieutenant Spiers reported, “Bombing was concentrated and a mushroom of black smoke was beginning to rise through the clouds as we left“. Two 218 Squadron Lancasters were part of a small force of thirty-nine from 31, 32 and 33 Bases dispatched on a close support operation at Wesel in the early evening on the 6th. With the German Army in full retreat towards the east bank of the Rhine, a further raid was undertaken within a few hours. Six 218 Squadron Lancasters were aloft by 02.47hrs, with a time on target of 05.30hrs. The crews were instructed to bomb on G-H, and all reported a concentration of explosions and fires below the cloud.
A new name appeared on the operations board on the early evening on the 7th. Dessau sat on the junction of the Mulde and Elbe Rivers, and was famous for the Bauhaus college of architecture, and producing a number of noted artists and lecturers. Thus far the war had largely passed it by. The group dispatched 127 Lancasters, including seventeen from 218 Squadron, which were part of the first wave detailed to be over the target in a four-minute slot from 22.00hrs. Patchy cloud over the target allowed the crews sight of the town and river below, and a number of well-placed Pathfinder markers resulted in some concentrated bombing in the face of moderate flak, but no searchlights. Crews reported black smoke rising from the target as they turned for home. Flight Lieutenant Warwick’s Lancaster was attacked by a JU88 while homebound, and after a spirited response from the rear turret, the assailant was seen to roll over and dive vertically. A brilliant flash was observed, and the night fighter was claimed as destroyed. Flight Sergeant Cullen was attacked by a Me410 minutes after leaving the target area, but both gunners opened fire simultaneously when the fighter was within four hundred yards, and it was last seen diving to port. PD278 HA-V was shot down at 22.45hrs by Fw Helmut Burkhard of 1/NJG5, and crashed into a dense wood near Marisfeld. There were no survivors from the crew of F/L Kenneth McKenzie RNZAF, who were on their twenty-first operation together.
It was back to daylight operations on the 9th, when the squadron dispatched eighteen crews to attack the Emscher Lippe Benzol Plants at Datteln in the Ruhr. The force of 159 Lancasters was divided into two formations, each with its own target, the 218 Squadron element being assigned to target B along with others from 31 and 33 Bases. Once past Wesel the force headed towards Datteln, located ten miles north-west of Dortmund, where a number of well-placed and compact blue puff markers resulted in some concentrated bombing from 18,000 to 20,000 feet. There was one moment of danger, when an unidentified Lancaster of 195 Squadron flew across and above a formation of five 218 Squadron aircraft. It dropped its bombs perilously close to the G-H leader, and forced the followers to bomb visually. This was the third occasion in as many weeks that a crew from 195 had caused the squadron problems during the bomb run. Bombing was accurate, especially at target B regardless of 195 Squadron best intentions!
Germany’s dwindling oil supplies were once again targeted on the 10th, when 155 Lancasters took off for a daylight attack on the Scholven-Buer Oil Plant. Seventeen 218 Squadron aircraft participated, and S/Ldr O’Brien was finally given the role of base leader, after operating in the role of deputy on no less than six previous occasions. On reaching the Continent the groups again found heavy cloud, and as always in such conditions, formation keeping was a problem. Large gaps began to appear between the first formation of 32 Base and the third formation of 31 Base. Such was the level of confusion that the 31 Base aircraft of 186, 195 and 218 Squadrons somehow found themselves in the second wave. The G-H leaders reported a strong signal, and a number of accurate blue puff markers were dropped, which resulted in some concentrated and precise bombing.
The operation on the 10th brought the twenty-eighth and final operation with 218 Squadron for S/Ldr John O’Brien and crew, and within days they were posted to 622 Squadron at Mildenhall. A disagreement between John and W/Cdr Smith regarding the inexperience of some of the recently posted-in crews resulted in John and his crew being posted off the squadron at a time when it could ill afford to lose such a fine officer. John had been A Flight commander for five months, and during that time he had proven himself to be an outstanding and courageous pilot, respected by all ranks. John’s years of experience in Training Command and his professionalism, along with his obvious concerns over the welfare of those under his charge, were apparently not appreciated by the “Vicar”. The circumstances surrounding the crews posting did not help the already fragile relationship between the senior crews and their commanding officer. Twenty-eight year old O’Brien relinquished the rank of squadron leader at 622 Squadron, he subsequently completed his tour of thirty-four operations against Potsdam on April 14th. John survived the war with a staggering 1,897 flying hours recorded in his log book. On May 18th he married his fiancée, Joyce, in his home town of Solihull.
The final raid of the war on Essen set an all-time record, when 1,079 aircraft took off during the late morning of March 11th. Fourteen Lancasters were dispatched by 218 Squadron, but F/O E Connell had to make an emergency landing at Juvincourt while outbound, after an engine fire developed. The remaining crews flew above a blanket of cloud, and picked up a fighter escort over the Continent. 3 Group took a slightly different route because of G-H signal issues, its 144 Lancasters were scheduled to be the final wave over the target. Masses of black and brown smoke welcomed the group, and all crews were confident that the raid was a success. The city was left in a state of paralysis, and it would be taken by American forces within a few short weeks. This was the final operation for F/L George “Dig” Klenner RAAF and crew, who had started their operational tour on October 14th against Duisburg. The crew was unique within the group, in that it completed a staggering forty-two operations on its first tour, against some of the most heavily defended targets in Germany.
A new record force of 1,108 aircraft took off for Dortmund in the early afternoon of the 12th to attack troop and communications targets at the behest of SHAEF. Sixteen 218 Squadron Lancasters took part, and once again 3 Group was scheduled to be last over the target either side of 17.00hrs. Aboard PD439 XH-J and alongside the Australian pilot, F/O Welch, was 31 Base commander G/C Brotherhood, flying yet another unauthorised operation. As usual bombing was by G-H, and a series of compact red and green smoke puffs dropped by the G-H leaders gave their followers an ideal target. A new record of 4,851 tons of bombs was delivered, and a dense billowing mass of black smoke was seen rising from the devastated city as the force turned for home.
Flying Officer James Yates and crew in front of “C” Flights PD229 XH-D. Note the 70 bomb symbols, PD229 arrived on the squadron December 7th 1944 via 622 Squadron.
No operations were carried out by the group on the 13th, but the 14th brought two targets, the Emscher Lippe Coking Plant at Datteln, and the Heinrich Hütte Benzol plant at Hattingen near Bochum. 218 Squadron was assigned to the former as part of a force of seventy-nine Lancasters from 31 and 32 Bases. The formation flew south of Calais and north of Arras in excellent weather, and under the protection of a Mustang and Spitfire escort. The Ruhr flak defences were active, and four of 218 Squadron’s seventeen aircraft sustained some degree of damage. Such was the intensity of flak that the already ragged formation was broken up even more, and this resulted in some rather scattered bombing. Thirty year old S/Ldr Christopher Martindale arrived on the squadron from 1653 Heavy Conversion Unit on this date to take command of A Flight.
The crews had a two day respite from operations thereafter, mainly because of fog and low cloud, before another dual operation was undertaken on the 17th. The target for 31 and 33 Bases was the Augusta Viktoria Coking Plant at Hüls, while another element from the group went for the Gneisenau Coking Plant at Dortmund. All of the 218 Squadron Lancasters attacked the target, and experienced very little opposition from flak. A Flight’s new commander, S/Ldr Martindale, joined the crew of C Flight’s S/Ldr Allardyce on this operation to gain experience. This was his first operational sortie, having accumulated a massive amount of flying experience during the previous five years flying with various training schools in the UK and Rhodesia.
The practice of dividing the group to attack two separate targets continued on the 18th, when the squadron was dispatched to attack the Heinrichshütte Benzol plant at Hattingen. The fifteen 218 Squadron Lancasters joined a further thirty-five from 31 and 32 Bases, while fifty others from 33 Base targeted the coking and benzol plant at Bruchstrasse. Taking off at lunchtime, S/Ldr Martindale was captaining his own crew for the first time, and they like the rest of the squadron encountered eight-tenths strato-cumulus cloud with tops up to 8,000 feet. This persisted all the way to the target, where the crews reported the formation and stream to be good, except for the aircraft of 33 Base, which had closed up too much on the 31 Base formation. Flying Officer Mears of PD277 HA-A complained bitterly about the erratic flying of 514 Squadron Lancaster JI-J, which was out of formation and approached Mears’ vic several times in an erratic fashion, and forced a number of minor course alterations. Crews bombed on a number of red puff markers, which were grouped closely together, and the attack appeared to be accurate in the face of slight to moderate flak. Taking part in this operation was the special flight of 514 Squadron, with its new GH/H2S Mk III equipment.
There was yet another visit to Gelsenkirchen on the 19th, when seventy-nine aircraft from 31 and 32 Bases were given the important Consolidated Benzol Plant to attack. Low cloud on take-off and at the rendezvous point created problems for the forming up process, and as a result the stream was strung out and rather unwieldy as it neared enemy territory. In fact an alarming twelve minute gap had developed between the two base formations, and this was exacerbated near Brussels, when 32 Base in the rear inexplicably decided to make an orbit. The scattered stream was engaged by accurate flak from the Rhine onwards, with a particularly heavy and accurate barrage south-east of Düsseldorf. Flight Lieutenant Hall and crew reported, “stream rather a hopeless mix up”, while W/O McDonald stated that “Forming up was hopeless”. Flight Sergeant Yates simply said “Stream did not exist”, and the experienced S/Ldr Allardyce, affectionately known on the squadron as “straight on Allardyce”, was equally critical, reporting that, “stream was split up into little groups and the formations were rather confused and scattered”.
The target area was clear of cloud, and this provided the crews with the opportunity to assess for the first time in weeks the accuracy of their bombing. Black oily smoke soon covered the aiming point as a concentrated raid developed, it was not all one sided accurate flak hit ME303 XH-F and LM577 HA-Q. The latter’s rear turret was damaged, and the rear gunner picked up an eye injury. A further five aircraft were hit, including RA532 HA-V, which sustained damage to the port-inner and starboard-outer engines. Pilot Officer Johnson knew almost immediately that they would not reach Chedburgh, and with the undercarriage inoperable in the retracted position, he set course for Brussels Evere. Johnson, who was operating for the fifteenth time, made a successful crash-landing at 17.30hrs. The following day the crew was flown back from Neuville by Dakota to Down Ampney, where they were picked up by F/L Blenkin and transported back to Chedburgh. RA532 was a Metropolitan Vickers-built Mk.I, which had arrived on the squadron direct from A.V Roe on February 21st, and such was the damage that it was struck off charge on April 5th. A replacement Lancaster was available over at Wratting Common, the home of 195 Squadron. Flying Officer Ham flew P/O Johnson over to Wratting Common to collect ME545 A4-N, and on return to Chedburgh the aircraft was re-coded XH-L, and given the name “Lovely Lou”. It would become the regular mount of F/L Warwick and crew, and it was this aircraft that featured in the final squadron photograph.
The squadrons of 31 Base were given a well-earned day off on the 20th, but they were back in action on the following morning for an attack on the railway yards and nearby railway viaduct at Münster. Sixteen 218 Squadron Lancasters joined twenty-eight others from 186 and 195 Squadrons and sixty-one from 32 Base. In clear skies the squadron attacked from between 18,500 and 20,000 feet on a number of blue puff markers, experiencing a moderate but accurate flak barrage. The G-H co-ordinates for the two aiming points somehow had been reversed, and this caused the main weight of bombs to fall south of the smaller of the two aiming points. A devastating attack on troop concentrations and their supplies in Bocholt was carried out on the 22nd. The operation, which involved thirteen 218 Squadron Lancasters, took place in ideal weather conditions, and the centre of the town became a mass of flames. On the following night the 21st Army Group entered the town, and a message was received by the C-in-C Bomber Command from Field Marshal Montgomery in appreciation of the vital role played by it in the campaign to cross the Rhine. The penultimate raid on the unfortunate town of Wesel took place on the 23rd in preparation for the Rhine crossing. The group detailed eighty Lancasters in the close support role, the aim of which was to target the German defensive positions on the opposite bank. In clear skies seven 218 Squadron Lancasters joined a further seventy-three from all three Bases, they left the shattered town of Wessel under a vast pall of smoke and flames.
The squadron was not required to operate again until the 29th, which gave everyone on the station a well earned respite. Wing Commander Smith proceeded on leave on the 28th, and command of the squadron passed temporarily to S/Ldr R Jell. The last raid of the month was directed against the Herman Göring Benzol Plant and Coke Ovens at Salzgitter near Brunswick. Twenty 218 Squadron Lancasters represented 31 Base, and together with 110 others from the group they headed in heavy cloud towards the east. With cloud tops up to 22,000 feet, visibility was a problem, and resulted in the formation splitting up into a rather disjointed stream. A navigational error by the group leader resulted in the squadrons encountering heavy accurate flak north of the Ruhr, and this had the effect of dispersing the stream even more. The G-H tracking pulse was strong, but not so the release pulse, and bombing was consequently rather scattered.
It was a disappointing end to a monumental month, in which 303 of the squadron’s aircraft had attacked their primary target, and this magnificent record put the squadron in joint second place with 115 Squadron on the group sortie ladder. The Kiwis of 75 Squadron topped the ladder with 344 sorties. The squadron completed twenty of twenty-three operations, and delivered in the process 1,367 tons of bombs. The group as a whole had dispatched 2,791 sorties of which 2,739 were successful, and this was a record number for any month since the outbreak of war. The squadrons of 31 Base had been busy continuously throughout the month, and the ground crews should take credit for their efforts in all weathers, as should the WAAF and back room boys who kept the squadron operational behind the scenes. Four DFCs and a Conspicuous Gallantry Medal were announced at the end of the month. “Shorty” Stewart RNZAF who had completed his tour of thirty-five operations was one of the DFC recipients.
The new month began with low cloud and showers, and it was not until the 4th that the squadron was called into action. Twenty-one crews were briefed to attack the partly destroyed synthetic oil plant at Merseburg near Leuna. This was one of the largest synthetic oil producers in Germany, and was reported to be the most heavily defended. An unprecedented number of twelve new pilots would join experienced crews as second pilots on this night. The Pathfinders were to mark the target for the 3 and 6 Group force, but eight-tenths cloud obscured their ground markers. The first of two waves reported that the initial marking was scattered, and, being used to marking their own targets, 218 Squadron were somewhat critical. Flying Officer Cooper remarked, “Trip would have been much better if the PFF had been on time, sky markers very late“, while F/O Mears stated that, “Marking on target very confused, Master Bomber hard to pick up“. The experienced F/L E Blenkin was equally unimpressed, stating, “T.I flares scattered, Master Bomber not heard“. The bombing took place on a number of red and green TIs, and on leaving the target area the crews reported that a glow was visible beneath the clouds. The only incident of an otherwise routine operation involved PD323 HA-K, which ran into the rear of ME860 XH-G on the runway at 03.12hrs, no injuries were reported. PD323 required extensive repair, while ME860 although receiving less damage required the attention of 54 Maintenance Unit. Neither would be available for operations before war’s end.
The next operation was another night raid on the 9th, when the squadron dispatched twenty-seven Lancasters to Kiel as part of a group record of 253 aircraft. The operation by a 1 and 3 Group contingent involved almost six hundred aircraft, and they found the weather over the target to be clear, and for once the squadron crews were enthusiastic about the marking. A large crimson explosion was witnessed at 22.40hrs, and crews reported a concentration of explosions and numerous fires around the aiming point. Such was the accuracy of the raid that the German pocket battleship Admiral Scheer capsized, and the Admiral Hipper and the Emden were both badly damaged, as was the docks area. This operation concluded the tour of F/O Douglas McClellan RNZAF and crew. Twenty-six year old McClellan had begun his operational tour on December 8th against Duisburg, and completed a further thirty-seven operations. He was awarded a well deserved DFC in September 1945. Flying Officer Boome and crew were posted to 7 Squadron of the Pathfinders on the 10th, the first crew from the squadron to join the Pathfinders since 1943.
The squadron had a two day break before it was once again required for operations. The target for the night of the 13/14th was again Kiel Harbour with the submarine yards as the primary aiming point. Twenty 218 Squadron Lancasters took off and headed north-east out over the North Sea towards Denmark, having joined up with 350 other aircraft from 3 and 6 Groups. The Pathfinders had already begun to mark when the 198 Lancasters from 3 Group approached the target, illuminating flares revealed the glow of red TIs in the cloud below. The raid was only partially successful, and the majority of the bombing fell almost two miles from the port area and largely into the suburb of Elmschenhagen. Fighters were active over the target area, F/L Warwick had a sharp encounter with a JU88, while the relatively inexperienced crew of P/O Yates fought off two separate attacks by a JU88 and a Bf109.
A new target was chalked up on the operations board on the 14/15th. Potsdam was situated amongst a series of inter-connecting lakes on the banks of the river Havel, and only fifteen miles south west of Berlin. This was the first incursion into the Berlin defence zone by RAF heavy bombers for more than a year. Twenty-four 218 Squadron Lancasters made up a force of five hundred of the type from 1, 3 and 8 Groups, which were tasked with the destruction of the local railway facilities and the former Old German Guards Regiment barracks used to house military and Nazis personnel. The target area was free of cloud as the bombing began at 23.07hrs on a number of red TIs dropped with precision over the aiming point. The Master Bomber, call sign “Zipfast”, gave clear instructions to the crews, but there was constant interference from another aircraft giving a running commentary on proceedings. Flight Sergeant Bishop, skipper of PD440, recalled that, “Master Bomber received OK but one aircraft interfering constantly, A CANADIAN crew“. Squadron Leader Martindale reported, “Huge explosions with high sheets of flames just leaving the target, Master Bomber continual interference from another aircraft“. A number of JU88s were reported just before the bomb run, but none from the squadron were involved in combats. Accurate heavy flak worked in conjunction with numerous searchlights as Berlin lived up to its reputation as a “hot target”, but Potsdam was left a mass of flames, smoke was rising over the whole target area as the force turned south.
Twenty-seven crews were briefed to attack naval guns and military installations on the island of Heligoland on the afternoon of the 18th. 3 Group put up a respectable 255 aircraft, 31 Base sending seventy-one Lancasters, 32 Base a creditable 102, while 33 Base added a further eighty-two. They were to be part of a force of over 950 aircraft from all groups, which had three aiming points to target, one at the north end, one at the southern end, and the main island. There was no cloud during the outward flight, the vast armada crossed the North Sea at 5,000 feet, before the force climbed to 15,000 feet for the attack. Watching over the enormous armada was an escort of twenty-two squadrons of Mustangs and Spitfires. The island was to be attacked over six waves, with 3 Group scheduled for the fourth wave, and timed to be on target between 13.05hrs and 13.15hrs. Only the north-western tip of the island could be visually identified as the group began its bombing run, as the remainder of the island was covered in thick smoke from the previous waves. Bombing was extremely concentrated, except for twelve sticks which were seen to explode in the sea short of the aiming point. The quick reaction of F/Sgt Talbot, the bomb aimer aboard W/Cdr Smith’s Lancaster prevented a tragic accident over the target. With the Pathfinder markers lined up in his bombsight, an unidentified Lancaster flew directly across their track, a mere seventy feet below. Talbot delayed his bombing by just a fraction of a second, and this saved the lives of both crews. The island was shrouded in dense black smoke rising from the various aiming points, the islands facilities were almost completely destroyed, such was the concentration and weight of bombing the island was reminiscent of the Somme.
A daylight G-H raid on the 19th called for a modest fifty Lancasters, the target was the railway transformer station at Munich (Pasing). Ten of the aircraft were provided by 218 Squadron, and they found weather conditions to be far from ideal during the outward flight, with six to nine-tenths cloud and tops up to 10,000 feet. As always this impeded the forming up process, and the ability of the crews to maintain formation once established. This was a constant headache also for the escort of 138 Mustangs from 11 Group. As the formation approached the target area the crews could see the railway lines west of the aiming point, G-H reception was reported to be good as the bombing run commenced. The attack appeared to be concentrated, but no one hung around to find out, knowing that the photo reconnaissance boys would do that for them, and the photographic evidence would be pinned up on the notice board.
The final attack on an oil target was carried out by a hundred 3 Group Lancasters on the 20th. The Rhenania-Ossag Mineralölwerke A.G. oil plant was located in distant Regensburg in south-eastern Germany, and at the time was supplying the German armies in the south. The stream, which once again became strung out, approached the target from the liberated zone east of Frankfurt. Fourteen 218 Squadron Lancasters were involved, and were part of the final wave over the target. Visibility was perfect as the crews began their bombing runs. There was little opposition from the ground, and the operation was completed for the loss of a single 622 Squadron Lancaster. On return from this operation two of 218 Squadron’s most respected captains were screened, F/Ls Les Harlow and Frank Blenkin having completed thirty-three and thirty operations respectively. The customary end of tour piss up followed, and the usual haunt, the Marquis Cornwallis, was used to celebrate the momentous occasion for two of the squadron’s most popular crews. This was in marked contrast to the experience of W/O Bernard Aves after he completed his tour of thirty-three operations. Aves was instructed to make himself available at W/Cdr Smith’s office, where he was told that he was to be screened with immediate effect, but that the “Vicar” wanted him to carry out one last operation that night. Bernard informed his C/O that he would go if ordered, but he would not volunteer. Bernard recalled that the “Vicar’s” face turned red with anger, and he ordered the bemused Bernard to get off his station and go on leave forthwith!
Lancaster’s of 218 Squadron taxying out for the operation against Bremen on April 22nd 1945. The squadron dispatched 21 crew including F/Lt Spiers who crashed near RAF Chedburgh on their return.
Following its earlier success at Wesel, the army requested the help of Bomber Command on the 22nd to attack enemy strong points on the outskirts of Bremen, ahead of the advancing British XXX Corps. During the late afternoon over seven hundred aircraft set out for what was to be a four wave operation, with the squadrons of 3 Group allocated to the second wave. 1 and 3 Groups crossed the Zuider Zee and turned north-east to Wilhelmshaven, where the flak was particularly accurate, although not unduly heavy. From Wilhelmshaven to the target there was considerable opposition, and more than a third of the group’s 195 aircraft sustained flak damage. The 3 Group element was given a factory strong point as its primary target, while 1 and 8 Groups had as their objective a number of fortified defensive positions, and 6 Group a hutted camp and barracks. The 218 Squadron contingent bombed on G-H between 18.32hrs and 18.35½hrs, and the crews described the bombing as concentrated and accurate.
Flight Lieutenant Spiers radioed that he was returning to base with engine trouble, he managed to nurse NF994 HA-N back to within a few miles of the Chedburgh circuit. Nine minutes later the Lancaster crashed on the airfield’s outer circuit, killing all but the two gunners, and narrowly missing a local bus in the process. The driver and a passenger leapt from the bus, and with total disregard for their own safety, rushed to the blazing Lancaster and helped pull out two crew members who were trapped under the forward section. Despite the obvious dangers both continued to aid the injured airman until RAF help arrived. Miss Jean Herring, a member of the Women’s Land Army, and Mr Claude Palfrey, the bus driver remained at the scene until no longer needed. Jean Herring was later found to be suffering from shock. For such an act of unselfish bravery, both were subsequently awarded the British Empire Medal (Civil). Sadly, the mid-upper gunner succumbed to his injuries the following day. Don Spiers had completed twenty-seven operations before his tragic death, nine of them at the controls of NF994. He was a local Suffolk lad from Haverhill, situated less than ten miles from Chedburgh.
Twenty-two of the squadron’s crews were briefed for a daylight G-H attack on the marshalling yards at Bad Oldesloe on the 24th. Only 31 and 33 Bases were involved, putting up between them 111 Lancasters. The nineteenth Lancaster to line up on the main runway was piloted by Australian F/O Robert Jenyns RAAF. With all four engines through the gate the Lancaster struggled into the air, at which point the port-outer began to splutter, and then inexplicably cut at a hundred feet. Robert fought to keep the aircraft aloft and on an even keel, but with its speed falling off, the Lancaster staggered across the airfield, narrowly missing the control tower. The port wing slowly dropped and the Lancaster stalled and crashed into a hedgerow between a row of houses and the WAAF living site. It immediately burst into flames, and the twenty-eight-year-old from Western Australia died instantly along with his crew. A few minutes later a 500lb bomb exploded, followed soon after by another, and the station commander ordered the evacuation of the WAAF site, No.2 Living site and the entire village. This proved to be a prudent precaution, as a one thousand pounder went up twenty-five minutes after the crash. NF955 HA-H “How” had developed a reputation as a “Jinx” aircraft. Taken on charge by the squadron on August 18th it had maintained a relatively clean record until the attack on St Vith on December 26th, when the port-inner failed. On February 14th the port-outer engine failed while attacking Dortmund, and on the 20th the Fishpond apparatus caught fire. By 218 Squadron standards it was something of a veteran with fifty-six operations to its credit. Flying Officer Jenyns and crew had carried out twenty-five operations.
The remainder of the force headed north-east over the North Sea towards Northern Germany in excellent visibility. Six squadrons of RAF Mustangs provided the escort, and again reported the formation to be strung out over thirty miles, making it difficult to provide cover. Bombs began to fall at 10.37hrs on a number of 250lb blue sky markers from between 16,600 and 19,000 feet. As the group turned away large fires could be seen blazing all over the aiming point, dense smoke slowly obscured the target to prevent any further observation.
The squadron was not required to operate on the following day, the 25th, which proved to be the last day of strategic bombing. 1 and 5 Groups provided the main force for an all-Lancaster attack on the SS barracks at Hitler’s Eaglesnest retreat at Berchtesgaden in the morning, before 4 and 6 Groups targeted heavy guns on the island of Wangerooge in the afternoon. Heavy rain and low cloud prevented any further flying until the 29th, when a new name appeared on the operations board. Operation Manna was an attempt to bring food to the starving Dutch people still under occupation. The German Army in Holland had put an embargo on all food transport to western Holland, after the country’s railway system went on strike following an appeal from the exiled Dutch Government for the railways to help the Allied Liberation soon after Arnhem. The embargo was partially lifted in November, allowing only water-transported food to be distributed to the desperately hungry population. With the onset of winter, however, the canals froze over and made movement impossible, the already limited food stocks rapidly ran out. In an effort to relieve the famine negotiations took place with the Germans for a coordinated food drop. Instead of targets the bombers were given dropping zones, and the Germans agreed on a number of corridors of safe passage to and from the various zones. On April 29th the BBC broadcast a message to the Netherlands.
“Bombers of the Royal Air Force have just taken off from their bases in England to drop food supplies to the Dutch population in enemy-occupied territory”
218 Squadron supplied ten Lancasters, each carrying four packages of urgently needed supplies. The operation was planned in four waves, the first three made up almost entirely of 1 Group, with thirty-one Lancasters of 33 Base making up part of the third wave, while the fourth wave consisted exclusively of aircraft from 31 and 32 Bases. They flew low over the flat, featureless and still potentially hostile Holland, it was an exhilarating experience for crews accustomed to flying at 18,000 feet and above. With Rotterdam on the horizon the sections dropped down to five hundred feet, whereupon a number of aircraft were hit by rifle fire. The sacks containing flour, sugar, tea, potatoes and cigarettes had been attached to modified panniers, and were dropped in good concentration in the briefed area. Hundreds of Dutch civilians were seen running onto the drop zone to collect up the packs, such was the haste to reach the packages the civilians were seen to enter the drop zone impervious to the potential danger of failing panniers. The routes were thronged with flag-waving people, who made gestures of thanks to the low flying crews.
April had been somewhat of an anti climax for 218 Squadron after the record activity of March, with only nine operations undertaken, four at night and five in daylight. One welcome piece of news was the squadron’s position finally at the top of the sortie ladder. The squadron’s contribution to the final month of the bombing war amounted to 730 tons, plus 65½ tons of supplies to the starving Dutch. With conditions in occupied Holland described as critical, two more urgently needed supply drops were undertaken on May 1st and May 2nd, both to The Hague. The squadron dispatched twenty-one Lancasters on both drops, and in the process delivered 161 packages. Disappointingly, thirty-seven were brought back as a result of hang-ups. The crews supplemented the packages with their own sweet rations, which were dropped with great joy to the hundreds of children lining the routes. The excitement of the crews was matched by the joy among the Dutch, who once again waved madly with anything they could get their hands on. Both Dutch and Union flags were in evidence, which they must have hidden from the occupying Germans. Drops were carried out on each subsequent day, except for the 6th, until the end of hostilities on the 8th.
On May 8th the squadron dispatched eight crews once again to The Hague, thirty-six packs were successfully delivered to the drop zone identified by a number of red TIs. One pack was dropped directly above the 218 Squadron formation, necessitating a violent steep turn to starboard. The base commander sent a Special Order of the Day to the squadrons of 31 Base, and in response the station commander, G/C W Brotherhood, addressed the returning crews and assembled personnel, and informed them that Germany had surrendered unconditionally, and that the war in Europe was finally over. The squadron went wild, and everyone cheered, kissed and hugged regardless of rank. The joy on the station was infectious, and a party was quickly organised and celebrated in the traditional manner!!!
To add to the general excitement a piece of welcome news arrived from group, which confirmed that for the last full month of the war 218 (Gold Coast) Squadron had finally topped the operational ladder with a magnificent 186 sorties, pipping its great rivals, 75 (NZ) Squadron into second place with 184 sorties and 115 Squadron into third place with 176 sorties. The joy was complete.
The squadron was not idle over the next few weeks, as “Manna” operations were followed by “Dodge” operations, and “Exodus” flights, the last-mentioned to bring home prisoners of war from the Continent. The first of these humanitarian operations to involve 218 Squadron took place on the 10th of May, when W/Cdr Smith led eleven aircraft to Juvincourt. Over the course of two days the squadron ferried home 238 former captives. At the end of May S/Ldr Martindale and fourteen crews of A Flight were dispatched to 31 Base Stradishall, where they were to undergo secret training for the new Tiger Force for operations against Japan.
August began with rain and drizzle, which reflected the mood on the squadron. On the 3rd six of the squadron’s Lancasters were flown over to Mepal for disposal, while a further two went to Hullavington on the 4th to be followed by two more on the 7th. The news that everyone knew was coming finally arrived on August 10th 1945, whereupon the squadron diarist wrote:
ON THIS 10TH DAY OF AUGUST 1945, THE SQUADRON DISBANDED AT R.A.F CHEDBURGH, AFTER HAVING SEEN CONTINOUS SERVICE SINCE IT WAS REFORMED AT UPPER HEYFORD ON 16TH MARCH 1936. THE COMMANDING OFFICER, WING COMMANDER W.J SMITH HAS BEEN POSTED TO NO.3 GROUP HEADQUARTERS, AND THE SQUADRON ADJUTANT FLIGHT LIEUTENANT N.C MINOR HAS RECIEVED POSTING INSTRUCTIONS TO R.A.F STATION WOODBRIDGE, THE TWO FLIGHT COMMANDERS SQUADRON LEADER ALLARDYCE AND SQUADRON LEADER MARTINDALE ARE NOT YET POSTED. ALL THE OFFICERS AND N.C.O’S ARE STILL AWAITING DISPOSAL INSTRUCTIONS.
In early August the Australian airman began their long journey home, while the few New Zealanders joined 75 (NZ) Squadron.
The final entry in the operational records book was made by S/Ldr George Allardyce, who signed the monthly summary on behalf of the already departed commanding officer. Despite the fact that his time at the helm had been characterized by his overly authoritarian manner, “Smithy” was, never the less, intensely proud of the squadron, and had made sure that it remained a well-organized and effective operational unit. He was not a man who endeared himself to those around him, and was certainly not from the same mould as Saville or Fenwick-Wilson. Even so, a farewell party was arranged for him on the 18th. On August 25th all the secret papers, charts, files and maps were ceremoniously burnt, although a few found their way into private hands to prevent them from being lost forever. The squadron’s activities at Chedburgh were brought to a fitting conclusion on August 27th, when the final two 218 Squadron Lancasters departed the station for the very last time. F/O Watson lifted “Q” off from the main runway over Clay Farm, and pointed the nose of the unladen Lancaster skyward, climbing steeply to port before shooting-up the runway at 100 feet at 11.09 hours. Two minutes later F/O Stanley repeated the performance in Lancaster “V”, and ended by beating up the station at low level. It must have been an impressive and emotional sight for those still on the ground, to watch these harbingers of death and destruction now being flown for fun by two experienced pilots. It was a fitting tribute, and as the familiar sound of Rolls Royce Merlins slowly faded into the distance, the thoughts of many of the onlookers would have returned to those who were absent, those young fliers who had surrendered their lives in the name of freedom.